When Zuko Needed A Girlfriend
by Yemoya
Summary: AU. Zuko's ancestors have hunted and killed the people in the south. Ozai needs a new image, since he wants to become president. So he gives his son a mission: Find a girlfriend from the south to whitewash their family's reputation. But the only girl from the south Zuko knows is Katara, and she hates him ever since high school. How can he make her agree to become his girlfriend?
1. Prologue

_This is an AU Zutara story set in an "invented" country in our time. The country is simply the Avatar world with the capital of the Fire Nation as the capital of the country. Since the country is in our world, all the existing countries do exist in the story, too._

_I am trying to recount all the important events from the series in this world, but the chronology will definitely suffer and also some shippings (since it is Zutara). I needed (or wanted) to change some characters and sometimes characters will do something that actually another character is doing. _

_Hope you enjoy reading and please let me know what you think! :)_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

**Prologue**

Katara had spent her whole life in the southern province of her country. The province was behind a mountain range which held any warm weather away. Katara's home were white snowy plains and valleys. Many lakes and rivers were providing the people there with the life giving water they needed. The lakes were frozen for three months of the year and the rivers only for one. There was only one big city in the southern province. It was situated at the most southern point of the province between mountains on a fjord, and you could already see the vast ocean from there.

This town fascinated Katara and she loved going there, since these people always showed her things she didn't know. It made her wish to see the rest of the world, to know where these things came from.

Elementia was a big country, one of the biggest of the world. It contained more than four climate zones and held a special flora and fauna unique to the world.

People never really wanted to leave Elementia, since itself already gave them so much.

Katara's father was a soldier and therefore not always at home. In a normal year she got to see him for three weeks. But despite his absence, Katara was far from being alone. She didn't only have her mother, brother and grandmother, she had a whole village which was there for her. The people in her village always cared for each other and they were all like a big family. Honestly, most of them were actually related, but sometimes some men would leave the village to find a wife elsewhere. It also happened that strangers would travel through their village, but would fall in love and stay there.

A young man from the capital had once come to their village and married Katara's cousin. That was exactly what Katara had always wished for. That a fascinating stranger would appear and fall in love with her, and marry her. This way she could stay in her village, but still find her true love. She was curious about the world, but nonetheless she did love her village more than anything else. Everyone had their role, their chores, served a purpose. Their way of living seemed outdated to most of the young people, which clearly made Katara an outsider. When her brother and the others would gather around one of the computers in the internet café, Katara loved to listen to the old stories her grandmother told her. It was only folklore, but a part of their culture and Katara was very proud of being from the southern province.

Her life seemed perfect to her. Her mother was always there for her, her brother liked to annoy her, but nonetheless loved and defended her, and her grandmother taught her all the important things of her culture.

But a few weeks after Katara had turned fourteen, her father told the family that he needed to move to the capital of the Eastern province.

Katara was horrified at the thought. He had never been that far away! Her father had always stayed in the southern province, their letters only needed a few days to reach each other, but Ba Sing Se was the country's biggest city. Why was her father needed there?

Kya, Katara's mother, laid a hand on her husband's arm and smiled at her children. "Your father will be further away from us than ever before. And he will have to stay there longer than ever before, too."

Hakoda, Katara's father, nodded smiling. "Yes, I'll be deployed there for more than two years, which is the longest time I have ever been deployed. You know that it's normally not even a year."

Katara looked at her brother who seemed to wait for something. Frowning she looked back at her parents.

"And since your father will stay there that long we decided that we'll go with him," her mother finally said and Sokka, Katara's brother, immediately jumped out of his chair, throwing his fists into the air.

"Wuhooo! I knew it! I knew we would all move! And spirits, to Ba Sing Se, this is so cool!"  
Katara crossed her arms and tentatively approached her parents. "Is this sure? I mean, do you just want to let us know your plan or do you already have a house and everything?"

"Your father has been given a house already, yes," her mother replied.

"And before I came home I travelled to Ba Sing Se to see how it is. If it would be a good plan to take you with me. And I'm telling you kids, it is marvellous! Of course it is big, but we'll only be in the Middle Ring. I was even visiting schools and talking to principals. There are many good private schools, but unfortunately we can't afford that. Although the public schools are also really good. You'll learn much more there than you could ever learn here. Graduating from a school from Ba Sing Se will give you so many possibilities! The whole world will be open to you!" Hakoda laid his hands on his knees, eyes sparkling with joy and pride. He was glad that he could finally do something good for his children. His job had only separated them so far, but now they were all going to be together and Katara and Sokka would receive a better education.

Katara wasn't happy at all. She had planned to learn from aunt Yakona how to become a healer. Aunt Yakona was no doctor, but she knew the human body better than anything else and she was an expert with plants.

Katara didn't need any better education and she didn't need another school!

"But… but this is our home," she said.

Kya leaned forward and took her hand. "Sweetie, I know this is a lot, but we're all going to be finally together. We're going to be a closer family and I promise you that you'll always feel like home with us." She stood up and gave her daughter a motherly hug, which made Katara feel better immediately.

Suddenly she did feel bad for letting her own selfish wishes come before her family. Her father must feel so lonely all the time without his family. She pressed her eyes shut and decided that she could do it.

She tried really hard. But every once in a while she still felt angry at just being taken away from her home and the future she wanted to have. She replied sarcastically to anything good about Ba Sing Se and emphasised everything good about their home.

Sokka grew annoyed by her rather quickly and scolded her for being so insensitive towards their father. Katara always did feel bad then, but she was too stubborn and proud to admit it.

Two weeks later they had moved to Ba Sing Se and Katara tried to hate everything about the new house and the city.

It was just so big. She would never be able to know everyone, other than in her village, and people didn't greet each other on the street. She couldn't see any landscape at the horizon, only houses after houses. Most of all, she did feel afraid in that place, but she covered it with her anger.

The new school was even worse than the city. The people wore too loose or too tight clothes, everyone was constantly at the phone and the kids just talked about followers, views and selfies. Katara had no clue what that meant and decided these people were all idiots.

Sokka quickly didn't talk about anything else, too, but Katara already knew that her brother was an idiot.

But the students weren't even the worst. The new subjects weren't just difficult, they were totally unnecessary. She didn't need to learn that stuff. Everything they needed to learn was taught in their village. This school, this other province had nothing to offer to her.

Or that's what she had thought.

Her opinion changed quickly, once she met a handsome boy with a crooked smile who was standing next to her in line for the cafeteria. He didn't notice her, but she couldn't keep her eyes from staring at him, how he laughed and chatted with his friends.

She found out that his name was Jet and that he was captain of the fencing team. Her crush was highly secret and no existing soul knew about that. Katara didn't even know what to do about it. No one could ever find out, since Jet wasn't the best boy to have a crush on. She noticed how he did play with girls, always flirting and probably having already kissed every girl from his year. Besides, he would never even notice her.

Katara always tried to be invisible, didn't talk a lot and didn't do any nonsense. The only thing she was doing was being part of the dance team. Katara always had loved dancing and the girls in the team were all very nice to her.

What Katara had not noticed was that Jet had a few friends in her dance team and therefore watched their performances.

After the first one Katara was proud, but still nervous, since she had been so excited and afraid, but everything had gone well and her family had been there and had clapped very loudly. She only wanted to go home, take a shower and sleep.

But before she could go to her family she bumped into Jet who had been lurking outside the girls' changing room. He congratulated her to the great performance, saying that she had done great and asked her if she would come to the party at Haru's house, the boyfriend of one of the girls in the team.

Katara stared at his grin, blinked, but when Jet didn't just vanish she nodded and felt an electric shock as he touched her arm, leaned down and whispered "I'm really looking forward to seeing you there."

With Sokka's help, who didn't know anything about Katara's real intentions, but thought she finally wanted to get friends and like the school, Katara convinced her parents to let them go to the party.

When Jet saw that Katara was there he smiled and made his way to her.

oOo

His whole life Zuko had only known one priority: the company.

Everything was for the company, everything his family was doing was for the company, and everything he did was for the company. Even though he was just a child, and even didn't understand what the company was about. He knew it was important. It was what was giving his family money and made sure they could buy cool stuff, and go on expensive holidays to amazing places.

But he never really understood it. His father tried to teach him some things about the company, but Zuko barely listened. He was more interested in playing with his Playmobile knights, or practising for his Kung Fu lessons. He knew his father wanted him to become part of the company, when he would be becoming of age. But that was not what Zuko wanted. He had other career plans and hopes, and whenever his father would hear about them, he would get grounded, or his favourite toys would be taken away from him. His punishment always depended on what he wanted to become. The more fun he would have in his job the worse was his punishment. This made him understand that his job wish had to be a boring one in order to make his father happy. So he kept saying that he wanted to become a lawyer, a judge, a tax accountant or other lame stuff he had heard about somewhere.

But because of that lack of interest he made many mistakes when it came to the company and his father's expectations. Zuko's cousin Lu Ten, who would one day lead the company, helped him then, and explained certain things to him in a more patient and friendly way. Lu Ten was eight years older than Zuko and already an adult, when Zuko still only cared about knights and Kung Fu. But Lu Ten cared about that, too, and always listened to Zuko, when he talked about his knights' adventures or the last Kung Fu lesson. Zuko didn't only like Lu Ten, because he listened, but also because he asked about that. Sometimes, when they had the time, Lu Ten even came to Zuko's room to play knights with him. It was much more fun to play with his older cousin than playing with his little sister Azula. Whenever she would play with him, he always got caught or killed, and Azula was the queen, punishing all his loyal men and declaring war to the neighbour states to enforce her power over the world. She then often reminded him of those TV villains in the middle age films.

Although Azula liked to play cruel, she wasn't really cruel. When she was eight years old and Zuko had just turned ten, Lu Ten was murdered.

Zuko didn't understand everything about it, only that it had to do with their ancestors and some foreign people who didn't like the company and his family. But he knew that it was unfair. Those people hadn't known Lu Ten. If they had known how he told jokes and made everyone laugh, they wouldn't have killed him. They would have worked hard to be liked by him. Everyone always does – did.

Zuko didn't play with Playmobile after that anymore. Even after Azula had shyly asked him to, in order to cheer him up. But Zuko's grief was nothing compared to Lu Ten's father's. Uncle Iroh was a kind and nice man, but Lu Ten's death, just four years after his wife had died of cancer, depressed him so much that Zuko's mother feared for his life. Iroh left the city in order to wander around the world. Zuko felt sad for Iroh and was a bit angry as his grandfather decided to make his father the next head of the company instead of Iroh who was older and had more experience. But with Lu Ten gone and Iroh wandering around the world this line wouldn't secure the company's persistence. Because his father became head now, it was clear that Zuko would have to become head himself one day. He was his father's firstborn after all. And then the days of playing were completely over.

Zuko had to learn more and more about the company, things too serious to catch his interest, which frustrated his father a lot. Their relationship just suffered more because of this. They had never been really close, but now it only became worse. Zuko started hating every time he had to spend with his father, because he always feared to do something wrong. He strained himself a lot and worked hard, because he didn't want to disappoint his father. Despite the fact that he took his childhood away, Zuko loved him and wanted him to be proud of him. So Zuko spent nearly all of his time studying for school to have good grades, and after that he read reports about the company's actions.

When he turned thirteen he had become a lot more confident and knowledgeable about the company and asked to sit in an official meeting with partners from another company. It was a very important meeting, deciding on the future of his father's company. That's why his father didn't want him to be there, but his uncle who had returned two years ago, persuaded Zuko's father to let him sit in the meeting. It would be good for him to listen to the people as long as he didn't say anything. Zuko did listen very intently, though what he heard was nothing he liked. He heard about betrayal, corruption and greed. When his father agreed to the other company's conditions in order for them to get a deal, Zuko was outraged. The conditions said that the production of a medicine which they sold for a very low price, but whose production was much more expensive, had to stop. Many people suffering from this illness couldn't afford therefore their medical treatment, and the people working in the production would be fired. Zuko felt that this was very unfair and selfish of the other company. It would hurt so many people, people who were dependent on them, and who liked their company. It made him sick to know that his father would let all these people down. Without thinking Zuko stood up and spoke against that condition, stating that they could not betray their employees and disappoint the customers. The other company was not pleased at all and insulted his father for not being able to keep his child in check. They left without agreeing to a deal, and his father was so angry how he had never ever seen him before.

Clenching his jaw he guided him to his office, after dismissing everyone else in the room. Zuko's uncle Iroh had looked worried, but he was positive that his brother Ozai would only explain to Zuko why it was wrong what he has said.

Zuko expected that, too. He did expect his father to yell at him, maybe even to throw things through the room. He didn't expect being slapped across his face. He didn't expect to have to remove his shirt either. He even didn't know what to expect when he heard his father behind him taking his belt of. The pain which he didn't expect either was different from anything he had ever felt. It was burning, cutting, poisoning and he screamed louder than he ever had before. His senses all fused together, focusing on the pain. He didn't hear himself screaming, only feeling his back being ripped apart. After far too long time Ozai brushed his hair out of his sweaty face and pulled out a cloth to clean his belt. He put it back on and said: "You have got twenty whippings, because there were eighteen people in the room you had embarrassed me in front of. The other two were for the two million dollars I lost because of you. You need to learn, Zuko. Our company is about money and power. Not about helping people and giving them jobs," he spit out and took a deep breath, regarding the mess he had left on Zuko's back. He had reacted without thinking, doing what his father had done to him, but what now? Zuko couldn't go into the hospital, his wounds were obviously from a whipping and if his wife would ever even hear about it...

"Fuuuck," Ozai hissed, running a hand through his hair. He was imperceptive to Zuko's soft sobs and pleas to forgive him.

Zuko had to leave. Leave for a faraway place where he could receive equal wounds, so that no one could trace it back to Ozai.

Tears streamed uncontrollably over Zuko's cheek while Ozai called his chauffeur. Shi Yu was a loyal man, and even if he would be disgusted by what Ozai wanted his son to do, Shi Yu would still do it.

While waiting for Shi Yu, Ozai got some wet clothes to clean a bit the blood off Zuko's back. His wincing sounds and flinching at the touch reminded Ozai sharply of what his father had done to him. It hurt a little bit, knowing that he had become just like his father. But it had to be done. Zuko needed to learn physically how much it hurt to be embarrassed and to lose money.

When Shi Yu arrived, Ozai ordered him to put Zuko on a plane which would carry him to the other end of the country. There he would have to visit a military school which would teach him respect. The beatings at this school were worse than what he had done, but it worked. He had experienced it himself that suffering was a great teacher.

He took a last deep breath, when he saw Shi Yu carrying Zuko out of the room.

Shi Yu had followed every order his boss had given him, had even done illegal things for him some time. He knew that Ozai was a ruthless business man, but in his ruthlessness he was also rather brilliant.

Shi Yu also knew that he was a hard and expecting father, but he had never thought that Ozai was capable of whipping his own thirteen year old son. Shocked was too weak to describe his feelings. While he carried the boy out of the building, on a secret route he was thinking about what to do next. He could not just send Zuko to a military school. The boy was so kind and soft, he would not survive there.

Shi Yu brought Zuko to his home, where he cared for his wounds, giving him medicine against the pain, which left Zuko in a barely conscious state.

Zuko remembered that someone cared for him and that he got food, that he was accompanied to the bathroom and even got new clothes. But his mind wasn't fully there. He wasn't even strong enough to wish for his mother to be there.

But Zuko remembered clearly being in a car, his back feeling sore, a rucksack next to him. Shi Yu drove him to the airport, which scared him a bit, since he had no idea why he had to go there. He hoped to meet his family there, but Shi Yu would not answer. He helped Zuko with his luggage and to accompany him into the hall. But after a few minutes Shi Yu left, just telling Zuko to stay where he was.

Zuko had never felt any fear like that, but after a few more minutes in which he told himself that he had nothing to fear, his uncle walked towards him.

Iroh carried a bag with him, the same ticket as Zuko (which did not have the destination on it that Ozai had wanted), and a smile on his face. He was angry and enraged inside, hating his brother with more than he ever had before, but he shoved it all to the side, in order not to scare or worry his nephew. He needed him now.

Zuko was very happy and relieved to see his uncle, but flinched slightly, when Iroh wanted to hug him. Zuko himself was confused by that, but he didn't allow himself to think about the reason for that.

Iroh told him that they were going on holiday for a few weeks to the Eastern province. Zuko had never been there, being born in the Western province, but he was curious.

The weeks with his uncle were great. Zuko saw a lot of great things, such as a desert, ostrich horses or even a sea monster. So much happened and Iroh always kept him safe, happy and was a lot of fun. After a few weeks they reached Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Eastern province, and Zuko started to wonder when he'll be back home and see his sister, mother and father again. But he didn't ask Iroh about them. There was still a slight fear in him at the thought of his father, something he felt every time when he was trying to fall asleep and he couldn't ignore the pain in his back anymore.

After two weeks in Ba Sing Se an old strict looking man appeared at their holiday home door and demanded that Zuko had to come with him. Ozai had registered him for a military school, and Zuko was to leave for the next school year immediately. This was the first time Zuko had ever seen his uncle angry. He made the strict man leave and told Zuko to go to his room, which he did. But Zuko heard Iroh talking, probably on the phone for a long time. His voice first sounded very cold and angry, then it became softer and the last call gave him a matter-of-fact-voice.

The next day Iroh told him that Zuko didn't need to go to that school, since he had talked to Ozai about this. Then Iroh handed him the phone and told him that his mother would call. She explained to him that he was to stay with his uncle in Ba Sing Se and to go to school there. She told him that she would visit him, but that it would be better for him not to return to the capital.

Zuko was nowhere near being relieved or happy. He was more sad and desperate than anything. He didn't want to stay here. Sure, he liked uncle Iroh, but he didn't want to stay in Ba Sing Se. He wanted his room, his house, his mother, his sister, his father and his school. Feeling hurt he screamed and yelled at his mother and felt like they didn't want him anymore. Was it all because of the meeting? Had it been so grave that his own family was rejecting him?

Iroh did everything he could to make Zuko happy, but the boy was stubborn. The happy carefree child was gone and an angry, frustrated and deeply hurt teenager had appeared instead.

oOo

The schools in Ba Sing Se were supposed to be good, but Zuko hated his new school. Everything about it which was not his home. Every student, every teacher, every wall, every floor, every bathroom and every meal. The only good thing was that they had a martial arts club. So Zuko kept taking Kung Fu lessons and in the want of venting more of his anger he learned other martial arts, too. He was really good and the teacher praised him for his progress. That was until Zuko made it to tenth grade.

A twelve year old boy, apparently highly intelligent came into ninth grade and beat Zuko in everything. Any martial arts in the club, even in his music lessons and he heard the boy was only writing As. Zuko hated him. With every part of his being he wanted to beat him in something. Especially in Kung Fu. It went against his understanding that such a small and lean boy could bring him to the floor. Again and again. The worst thing was that Aang, that was the boy's name (stupid name in Zuko's opinion), was cheery and friendly. He had made a lot of friends only by smiling and talking a lot.

Well, both were things Zuko didn't do, but he still felt a bit envious. Aang was always nice to Zuko, smiling and telling him if he thought that he had done great in the spar. And Zuko could differentiate between the mock praise of his sister or serious praise of his mother. Aang was like his mother. He was serious.

When Aang once tried to show Zuko what to do in order to improve Zuko had enough and yelled at him to shut up, since he didn't care and didn't want Aang's help.

Aang might have been very intelligent and a good fighter, but he was still twelve years old and started to cry.

Everyone else in the club became immediately angry at Zuko, since everyone liked Aang. Zuko mumbled an apology and hurried away.

The next day a girl with brown skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes approached him at his locker in a nearly empty hallway. Zuko knew her name was Katara and that she was Jet's girlfriend. He was surprised that she wanted to talk to him. But she was only yelling at him for being an idiot, an asshole and mean to younger children. She was defending Aang and Zuko just stared at her, until he became angry and yelled back.

"So what? I didn't want his help and he was annoying me!"

"He is just a..."

"I don't care, okay? I didn't mean to be mean, I already apologised and it's not my problem that he has to cry because my bad mood like a little baby!"

"Aang's no baby, you jerk! He is young, but he is serious and great. All I want you to do is to apologise to him and not to ever do that to him again! From now on you're going to be nice to him!"

Anger and bewilderment coursed through Zuko. "What the hell, no! I _did _apologise. If he doesn't want to accept it, that is not my problem! I don't care!"

"I don't care that you don't care! Be nice or stay away from him!"

"Who do you think you are? You can't just order me around! I do whatever I want to do!"

"Yeah, I've seen that. What you want to do is obviously making younger boys cry!"

"It's not my fault he did cry!"

"It so is!"

"I... Aaaarrggghhh! Just leave me alone!" Zuko closed his locker and started to walk away.

"I'm only leaving you alone because I can't stand your presence right now! Not because you said so! And stay away from Aang, you hear me?" Katara shouted after him.

Zuko didn't care that Katara was two years younger than him, he didn't care that she was a girl and had until now always been nice to him. He didn't care what his uncle had told him about manners. He just lifted his right hand and showed her his middle finger over his shoulder.

He heard her gasp aloud. "Don't you dare show me your middle finger, you jerk!"

He lifted his other one, too.

"Well, aren't you a big boy now!" she scoffed, feeling very annoyed at the fact that all boys seemed to feel superior when they showed someone their middle finger.

"Bigger than you," he said and turned around a corner.

Katara balled her hands to fists and stomped one foot, before she groaned angrily. _What a jerk_, she thought.

oOo

Since then any encounter between Katara and Zuko was overshadowed by that fight, by Katara's insane requests and Zuko's asshole behaviour. Even Katara's brother, Sokka, who Zuko had kind of gotten along with well, was now behaving hostile towards him.

Zuko pretended not to care, only stood with crossed arms, a stoic face and when he didn't even want to give them a chance to insult him he scowled with all the evil force he could summon within him.

Even Aang's cheery smile always vanished then. Aang had excused himself for Katara's behaviour and had emphasised that he had had no idea about what Katara had been up to. Aang had told Zuko that she was just very overprotective. Zuko had just snapped that she didn't need to behave like his mother, which made Aang blush and stutter that she did not behave like his mother. Rolling his eyes and suppressing an annoyed groan Zuko had walked away.

In eleventh grade Zuko's partner for laboratory became Jet, much to his annoyance. But their teacher was a horrible and unfair man, only giving then bad grades, no matter what they did. He liked to insult them and provoke them in front of the whole class, sometimes making it even personal. Their hatred for the teacher welded them together and they started planning pranks and playing them. They flooded their teacher's office, stole his food and the answers for the test, although they weren't stupid enough to answer every question correctly, so that the teacher didn't even have any chance to give them bad grades. Jet boasted a lot about this which made Zuko feel uncomfortable, but he felt a little bit of joy at the thought of having an ally. With time they even became friends and Zuko met Jet's other friends Smellerbee and Longshot. Although meeting Jet meant also seeing Katara, Zuko was looking forward to seeing him. Jet was a very open and carefree person who liked to entertain and boast. He had a way with girls and was always interested in having the most fun he could. He remembered Zuko a bit of Aang, only in a more adult and slightly illegal way.

High School was more fun now and even Iroh noticed the change in Zuko. He was friendlier towards him and to others, too. Iroh hoped that Zuko's pain would subside with time. Ursa was still holding contact with Zuko, and even Azula called him or wrote to him from time to time. But Ozai was immovable. He said that if Zuko did not learn at the military academy which would form him into a strong and respectful man, he had no use for the boy. Iroh felt highly frustrated and felt more hatred for his brother than he had ever before.

But on the last day of Zuko's eleventh school year Azula suddenly appeared at his school. She tried to convince him to go to that military school, so that his father would accept him back. Azula told him that her mother and she missed him and Zuko nearly accepted. But this school... No, and if they missed him so much, they could have only visited him. But in Zuko's opinion Azula wanted him home for another reason. He made her leave and thought about that all summer. Fortunately, he met a girl named Jin in the tea shop he was serving at. Jin and Zuko quickly became a couple and he didn't feel that sad anymore. They didn't talk much, but Zuko felt loved, wanted and accepted.

That short happiness disappeared pretty fast when Azula showed up at his school again, this time to stay. She had convinced Ozai that being close to Zuko would make him see that the military school was the best way for him. That way he wouldn't stay a disgrace for Ozai. Furthermore, Ozai needed a stable family with what he wanted to do next. And so he agreed to Azula's plan. But Ursa had to stay behind, because Ozai would not lose his family and letting Ursa go to her children... It would probably end his marriage.

Azula behaved strangely in Zuko's opinion. She was mostly nice to him, but was still trying to convince him to go to the military school. Zuko refused every time, but otherwise was enjoying his time with his little sister. It was nice seeing her again and even getting teased by her. Zuko had missed her.

Azula was living with an old friend, Mai, who had moved to Ba Sing Se a few years ago, too. She went to Zuko's school and was a quiet and emotionless person who was friends with the ever enthusiastic and happy cheerleader Ty Lee. Ty Lee was strange, always talking about auras and soooooooo cheery, like the whole time and about everything, that Zuko wondered how Mai could stand her presence. Even Azula came to like Ty Lee which really went beyond Zuko's comprehension. Azula normally didn't like anyone.

There was another plus to Azula's presence at Zuko's school. She was smarter and a better martial arts fighter than Aang and always got better or, at least, the same grades as him. Azula saw that it did make Zuko happy to see Aang lose in fights in the club, so she made it her personal mission to beat Aang in everything he did. When she heard about how Katara and Sokka treated Zuko, Azula was making their lives hell, too. She didn't really want Zuko to go to the military school, but she wanted him home, with her, and she wanted her family to be whole again. She didn't like it to have all her father's expectations for the company on her and to see her mother sad and depressed the whole time, just because her son was not there. Azula felt crushed and missed her brother who was silly, yeah, but he always had made her laugh. Often out of schadenfreude, but she still loved him. Not that she would ever tell him that.

With Azula having his back it became way easier for Zuko to enjoy school. People never even looked his way and Katara always bit her lip instead of saying something mean. Zuko didn't even think it was embarrassing, because he knew his sister. She was scary as hell and if he told her he felt embarrassed, she would only make it worse.

Because of Azula Jet and Katara even broke up. Katara didn't like Azula one bit and she hated knowing that Jet was friends with Azula's brother. She had kept quiet so far, because Zuko's behaviour had been decent (Katara had no clue about their pranks on the teachers), but enough was enough. Katara did everything to make Jet see that Zuko was a bad influence and obviously also had a really bad family. But Jet liked Azula and he really liked hanging with Zuko, so he didn't want to listen. As Katara threatened him to break up, he told her that he would stay away from Zuko and Azula. But he didn't. In secret they were still meeting, hanging at uncle Iroh's tea shop or in Jet's impressive tree house on his parents' grounds to listen to music, smoke weed, drink stolen alcohol and pre-drink to go to parties. But Katara found out about that and broke up with Jet, shouting and yelling on the parking lot in front of the whole school. Jet complained about that to Zuko who shrugged and said it was clearly Jet's fault here. He did lie to Katara, after all. Zuko went even that far to say that Jet didn't even deserve her. Zuko should have kept his mouth, though, since Jet was drunk and beat Zuko. They fought each other pretty bad in the boys' bathroom and got detention. But that did not end their friendship. Later that day they were laughing with each other again.

Zuko even tried to talk to Katara and convince her to give Jet another chance, since he really loved her. Katara didn't want to listen, but felt her heart beat faster at the thought that Jet still loved her. Zuko told her that he wasn't a bad guy and that Azula was only mean to her, because she was mean to him. With a lot of stuttering and awkwardness Zuko even said that they could all be friends together. But at that moment Katara saw Jet walking down the hallway with Azula next to him, both laughing about something Jet had said. To Katara it looked as if they were flirting and she had to blink back tears. Under no circumstances she would ever let Zuko see her cry, so she only glared at him and walked away without saying anything else (Zuko had kept talking, since he hadn't noticed Katara looking at Jet and Azula and Katara had walked away, while Zuko had said: "Yeah, cinema is a good idea I think. You know there we all already have a topic to talk about and we could do that while…" He narrowed his eyes at her retreating back and sighed. "…eating burgers. Great Jet, you seriously messed up. Well, and I guess I did, too." He then noticed that he was talking to himself again, blushed and turned around, hurrying to his class room.).

When Zuko graduated, he was nearly persuaded by Azula. He chose not to go to the military academy to become a soldier, but to study there. Iroh didn't like the idea, he was afraid that Zuko was not doing it for himself and tried to convince him to something else, which made Zuko snap at him that he didn't need him anymore and that the only thing he ever did was keeping him from his family to have a replacement for his son. They didn't part on good terms.

Zuko and Jin broke up when Zuko moved away, because both thought that it was the best choice. To Zuko's big surprise Jet decided to come with him. Mostly because he had no clue what else he could or wanted to do after school, but also because he didn't want to be anywhere without his friends. And studying art like Smellerbee or physics like Longshot wasn't anything for him.

With Jet gone Aang was getting his hopes up that Katara would notice him as more than a friend. She was his best friend after all, and she was funny, pretty and friendly. He could talk to her and he really wanted a girlfriend. Sokka already had his second girlfriend and Haru and Teo were also in relationships. Only Toph wasn't, but then again Toph didn't seem to be interested in such things. He had suspected her having a crush on Zuko, since she always had been friendly to him (in her own blunt manner), but he quickly noticed that Toph had behaved towards the older teenager as to anyone else, too.

Katara had been really oblivious to Aang's crush and had been very surprised at his first try. But after one kiss at a party they didn't talk about it anymore and when he tried two weeks again she rejected him, because she wasn't sure of her feelings. They both had to prepare a lot for their future in this school year. Both were thinking about their futures and had to study for their final exams. When it was all done, both accepted by their favourite college Katara felt suddenly lighter and knew that she wanted to be with Aang. He was so sweet and kind and always made her laugh and feel better. It would be nice to date a nice boy after dating a bad boy.

Zuko and Jet were getting even closer at the academy, almost feeling like brothers. They shared a room for three years and were like family to each other, since both didn't really have anyone else. Azula was visiting Zuko in his first year and followed him to the academy in his second. She was a great soldier and student, of course. Always getting the best grades. Ty Lee and Mai were also there and Zuko found himself falling slowly for Mai.

They became a couple and started planning a future together. But everything changed when Zuko graduated from the academy.

He had been the best student from his year and received an honour for special achievements.

His parents showed up at the party, his father telling him that he was proud of him. Zuko was deeply shocked and didn't really know how to handle this, but when his father asked him to come back to the capital, Zuko immediately accepted. He would be with his family again! His father was proud of him and accepted him! Zuko had never felt such joy!

He tried to ignore the little uneasiness and fear he felt in Ozai's presence.

At the capital Zuko chose to study economics and law at the university to help and know more about important things for the company. His father bought an apartment for him, in which Jet moved in, too. Jet learned to be an estate agent and Zuko was rather relieved to have someone familiar with him in his new environment. He knew the capital rather well, but had a feeling that everything there had changed while he had been away.

Ursa was more than overjoyed to see her son again. She had tried many times to leave Ozai and take Azula with her to Zuko. But Ozai didn't trust her as much as he trusted Azula, and had threatened her or the safety of the people she loved the most. Ursa knew she hadn't been able to do anything, but she still felt a lot of guilt.

Zuko didn't seem to accuse her of anything and was the friendly and nice boy she was used to. But he was more taciturn than before. Sometimes he even seemed depressed to her, but Jet told her that this was just how Zuko was.

Still, Ursa felt her heart clench every time she did see that thoughtful lonely face of her once so cheerful son.

Having finished school Katara had no idea what to do. Aang decided to do a voluntary year in a different country, Sokka was already studying for a year and Toph decided to travel the world. Katara did feel confused about that, too, since for her travelling the world, when one couldn't see the world's beauty, didn't make any sense.

She knew medicine interested her or law. She wanted to study something to help people and fight injustice. But for now she thought doing a voluntary year was maybe a good way to figure out what she wanted to do. Aang and she were going to help build villages in Ethiopia, which did make Katara nervous as hell. She had never before been outside of Elementia and without Aang she wouldn't even feel the urge to leave her home country. But the time in Ethiopia was great. Katara felt like she was serving a purpose and thrived in helping people. She lived in a helper's village and didn't meet the indigenous people often, but she was always looking forward to it. They were so friendly and open all the time. Everyone gave her something to eat, children brought her drawings of her and she was invited for meals or overnight from various families. Sometimes her helping group would go to festivities of the indigenous which reminded Katara a bit of her own people. There was music, dance, a fire, food and folk tales which were told. It was way hotter than it had been at Katara's home, the people's skin was even darker, the music and the folk tales were not the same, but it still gave Katara the same thrilling feeling of companionship, solidarity and that there was something more in the world than the eye could see. The air seemed to hum and every living being to vibrate. These evenings seemed magical to her.

After that year Katara was happy to go back home, but received the message that her father would soon be deployed in the capital, which would again be a job for several years. Her mother would move with him and Sokka wanted to get a job in the capital after he would have finished his studies in Ba Sing Se. So Katara was looking for a university place in the capital. She had decided to study law and as Aang agreed to go with her, since he, too, wanted to study law, everything seemed to be fine and great. They went looking for jobs and an apartment the whole summer and bought furniture, painted the walls and decorated. Both decorated with things from their original province, but it was fine.

Katara was happy and she knew she was on the right way.


	2. Chapter 1

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

Chapter One

Frantically pressing the button for the lift Zuko was close to have a heart attack. He could not be late. He just couldn't afford being late.

"Come on," he hissed, feeling drops of sweat on his forehead.

The lift finally arrived and he rushed in, searching for a tissue to dry his skin. Still panting a bit he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Everything had been totally fine when he had left his apartment. He had had enough time. But traffic jam, heavy rain and the oldest taxi driver the world had ever seen, had made him late.

But he could still make it. In three minutes just going onto the tenth floor, to the hall and take his seat on stage.

Oh no, who was he kidding? He was so going to be late! His father would kill him!

Not right now in front of all the people, but definitely later.

Quickly he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his mother to tell her that he was going to be late. But she was not answering the phone.

"Urgh!" He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and glared at the display which showed that he had just passed the sixth floor.

This was immensely important. It was his father's first appearance on TV after he had announced his run for president. He had to make a good image and with a son coming late everything would look really bad. Zuko could not afford embarrassing his father again.

Once the lift's doors opened he rushed out, running as fast and quietly as he could toward the back entrance of the hall and nearly colliding with a stage worker as he wanted to open the door.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed and jumped over loose cables which were lying on the ground. He took a sharp turn left, threw his bag on a chair and blinked into the blazing spotlight.

Narrowing his eyes Zuko quickly tried to look as composed and calm as possible. He straightened his jackett and walked slowly to his chair next to his sister as if everything was okay.

It hadn't begun yet, so everything was okay. Zuko couldn't see the audience, but he knew they had seen him.

"What happened?" Azula whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Zuko looked at the other seat next to him, on which his father sat, and opened his mouth to answer, but Ozai laid a hand on Zuko's leg and Zuko remained silent, only clearing his throat.

The next second the TV moderator mounted the stage and greeted the audience and the people in front of their TVs.

Zuko raised his eyebrows in surprise, since the moderator didn't look one bit like a normal TV moderator, but that was because he normally wasn't.

Chit Sang was a famous actor and boxer. He was a personal friend to his father and very popular.

Of course, Zuko thought. Leave it to dad to find a normally inappropriate guy for something, but who will do his job so well that everyone will love it even more.

"Good evening, Elementia! My name is Chit Sang and it is my great pleasure to guide you through the evening tonight! As you all know we will hold the presidential elections again in twelve months! And tonight! Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we all have the great pleasure to meet one of the candidates! You all probably know him! He is smart, successful and a family person. I'm talking about Kasaishi Ozai! You all know him as the leader of the Kasai company. Kasaishi is a really good business man, but since when is he into politics? Even I didn't know."

The audience laughed, when Chit Sang chuckled a bit.

Zuko looked tentatively at his father who smiled slightly.

"But I guess I've done enough talking now. It is Kasaishi who this show is about, after all. Now let's all greet him together! Kasaishi Ozai! Come on guys, some applause!"

The audience clapped their hands and cheered a bit. Zuko did even hear some "Wuhoo"s and whistles.

Ozai stood up and waved a bit at the audience, walking forward to stand next to Chit Sang who patted Ozai on the back.

"Ozai, it is great having you here."

"It is great being here, Chit Sang," Ozai replied.

"Now if you don't mind I'd like to start with a rather important question." Chit Sang looked deep into Ozai's eyes.

"Of course," Ozai said smiling.

"Why do you want to become president?"

It was dead quiet in the room, so quiet that one could hear the air conditioner.

Ozai left a dramatic pause, then cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back. "My ancestors founded this country. It is thanks to them that we're all living here. Nevertheless they were greedy and cruel people, which were rightly dethroned. Now I've seen this country stumbling and suffering a lot. I think it is time for my family to fulfill our duty again. Being in politics will give us the chance to help Elementia. We'll finally be able to right the wrongs our ancestors did. And as president I would have the chance to do so."

Chit Sang took a deep breath. "Wow. That sounds very honorable of you, Ozai. Standing up for the mistakes of your ancestors like that..."

Ozai shrugged. "You are right. I wasn't there, so these were not my crimes and mistakes, but ancestors are family. And in our family this is more important than anything else. It is time that we liberate us from the crimes of the past."

Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew his father felt bad for the crimes of their ancestors, but certainly not enough to want to become president. This was just an excuse.

Chit Sang nodded, putting a hand on Ozai's shoulders. "There you hear it! Family is more important than anything else!"

The audience cheered and clapped again.

Zuko's chest tightened.

"As we all can see," Chit Sang continued, "you have brought your family with you today, Ozai. Are they more important to you than anything else?"

Ozai smiled the smile he always used on his wife, when he wanted her to believe that there was nothing more dear to him than her. It was sweet and warm. "Of course they are."

"When one looks at your family, one could think that you are a perfect family, don't you think? A successful husband, a lovely wife, two good looking and also successful children as I heard. Would you agree?"

Ozai continued to smile, although it did kind of hurt his cheeks. "Not perfect, since no one is perfect, but to me, I'd say they are. I am immensely proud of my children."

To Zuko's horror his cheeks heated up and he felt like grinning like an idiot. His father was still proud of him! Well, he kind of had to say that, since he was on television, but still! All Zuko had ever wished for, came true. Hearing his father say that still had a great effect on him.

"This is good to hear, Ozai. But now, let us finally come to the exciting questions! What do you want to do as our president? What are your goals and what do you want to change? Is there maybe even something you want to remove?" Chit Sang asked with a bit of exaggeration.

"In fact, Chit Sang, there are such things, but most of them I am keeping for my speech for my party's first TV appearance with their new candidates," Ozai said with the perfect amount of sorrow, but without feeling sorry at all. He even shrugged.

"Aw, come on, Ozai! One thing! Just tell us one thing! I mean, you do want votes, don't you? So the people have to know what you want to do! Who else wants to know more about Kasaishi's election program?!" Chit Sang shouted, waving at the crowd as if he were a rapper.

The audience's answer was immediate. They really seemed to love Chti Sang.

"Okay, okay," Ozai agreed smiling. "We have a lot of problems inside our country. Poverty, even famine and health care is also not as good as it could be. The education system is not in every province as good as here in the capital. These are topics which I want to change, when I become president."

Cheerful applause answered Ozai, the audience whistling and shouting "Kasaishi!".

Zuko flinched, when his father said "when" instead of "if". Wow, he seemed to be pretty sure of himself.

oOo

Anger rushed through Katara, as she turned off the TV. How could this person even think about becoming a president?

Muttering to herself she continued to store her kitchen items in a carton.

Kasaishi Ozai for president?! Never! The people hadn't got rid of the kings one century ago, only so that their descendant could rule Elementia again! Who did he think he was? His family had nearly made sure that Katara's people, the southern province, and all the people living in the mountains had become extinct. They looked different from the people in the capital province, the Western or Eastern province, but they had been hunted for beliefs in spirits and apparent witchcraft. But that was nonsense, there was no such thing as witchcraft or sorcery.

The bell rang and Katara quickly made it to the entrance to open the door. She smiled when she saw who was standing in front of it.

"Toph! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed and hugged the girl fiercely.

Toph relaxed into her friend's hug and sighed. "I missed you, too!"

Katara pulled back and pulled Toph into the apartment. "Oh Toph, you cannot believe how happy I am to see you!" Tears actually filled her eyes, since she hadn't seen her friend in years now and had really worried for her safety. "Come on, I'll make us coffee and I have chocolate cookies!"

Toph's grin spread wide. "Now that sounds good! I haven't drunk coffee for ages! All I had the last years was tea and more tea!"

"You have to tell me everything!" Katara guided Toph into the kitchen to a chair and busied herself with making coffee. She had known that Toph was back and wanted to visit her, but she had thought that she would have more time for that. Time to pack all her things and move out.

While making coffee Katara tried not to touch any of the cartons, since that made a unique sound and her blind friend had really good hearing. When she brought Toph coffee the smaller girl took a deep breath and sighed. "Ah! How I missed the smell of coffee! Thanks, Sugar Queen!"

"No problem, Toph! Now tell me, where have you been, what have you done?"

Toph frowned. "I called you every month and told you precisely what I have done. Have you forgotten about that already?"

Katara blushed and shook her head. "No, it's just..."

"Let me ask you something. Did you seriously break up with Aang?"

Uh oh. She said his real name. That meant that she was serious.

"Yes," Katara said firmly.

"And why?" Toph asked curiously. "You don't love someone else, do you?"

"No!" Katara shouted. "Of course not! I'd never do that to Aang! But... I don't know. I just couldn't picture myself with him in a few years..."

Toph snorted. "That's a dumb reason."

Anger rushed through Katara. "It's not like I wanted to hurt him! I struggled with that decision for a long time now! And would you rather I'd lie to him for the next years?!"

Toph shook her head. "No, of course not. But I still don't get it. You were so disgustingly happy."

"Yeah, we were," Katara sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Toph, stop it! You're making me questioning all that. And even if it hurt I'm pretty sure that I did the right thing. I mean Aang is great and sweet, but I had the feeling he didn't take my career as seriously as his own. He never actually said it, but to me it felt as if he would expect me to stay at home if we ever had kids!"

"Well, then he's just stupid!" Toph leaned back and crossed her arms, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Okay, listen. Aang ist my best friend and I want him to be happy, but you're my best female friend and if you say that it's better this way, I'll have to trust you. Aang will eventually come around."

Katara sighed. "I really hope so. I never wanted him to get hurt."

Toph inclined her head. "Please tell me that this is not the reason you agreed to go out with him in the first place."

Katara quickly shook her head. "No of course not! I was really in love with him!"

Toph nodded. "Allright. Then it's okay. So, what are you doing now? Moving out?"

Katara flinched. "You noticed that?"

Toph shurgged. "It's kind of obvious. You can't keep living here, after you broke up with him. And I smell cartons. A lot cartons."

"Yeah, I am packing. But I cannot afford an apartment on my own, so I'm moving into the student dorm at the university."

"Ah!" Toph grinned. "Well, there you'll have lots of opportunities to party! And to meet some handsome boys!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Even if, I don't want boys anymore. I'm turning twenty-one in two months! I'm ready to date a man!"

Toph cackled hysterically, which caused Katara to cross her arms and frown at her friend. "Yeah yeah, you can laugh..."

"A man? Katara, wow! I'm sorry, but you seem to have some kind of idealistic view of the other sex! If you want a man, marry a boy, have some kids with him and wait until he accepted the fact that he's getting older. In his sixties you'll have a man then."

Katara rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying that I don't want them to have fun or be a little childish sometimes, but only in appropriate situations! They could also focus on the important things in life!"

"And Aang didn't?"

Katara blushed. "Well... No, he did. But maybe a little too much. He was just so fast in our relationship. I mean, first I was okay with that. But when we moved back into the city and after I've talked to other students and saw other couples I just realised that I was not ready yet."

"Hm. Well, as long as both of you are happy in the end," Toph said, the topic apparently finished for her. "Do you know yet who you're going to vote for president?"

Katara groaned. "No! But certainly not this Kasaishi! I don't get how he thinks he is going to get the votes! Almost everyone hates him!"

Toph raised her eyebrows. "You mean everyone you know. The wealthy people from here like him."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Well, it's a good thing then that we're the majority!"

"Yeah, I mean it is awful what his ancestors have done, but you can't judge a person by their family's history."

Katara narrowed her eyes, not liking it that Toph was not on her side. "Still."

"Or do you think that Zuko and Azula would do this to your people, too?"

Katara frowned, wondering why Toph was mentioning those two now. Since they graduated Katara had never even thought about them. "What do they have to do with this?"

Toph raised both her eyebrows. "You're joking, right?"

"No."

"Their family name is Kasaishi!"

Katara's eyes widened. Of course! How could she not have seen that? They were Kasaishi Ozai's children! Well, that was typical. They had gotten along with everyone at school, just picking at Sokka, Aang and her. Maybe repulsion against Southerners or Mountainers ran in the family. "Oh, right. I don't like it when wealthy people think they must rule a country. It's too much power for one person!"

"That's why we don't have king's anymore and a parliament, Katara," Toph explained in a teacher tone and Katara rolled her eyes.

oOo

After hearing "Come in!" Zuko opened the door to his father's study. "Father? You wanted to talk to me?"

Ozai folded a few papers and put them aside. "Yes, come, sit down!"

Zuko walked over to Ozai's desk and sat down in front of it on the small chair.

"Do you know which citizens would vote for me?" Ozai started.

Zuko frowned. "People who like Kasai Industries. Conservative people and old royalists, I guess."

Ozai nodded. "That is quite right. But those people unfortunately don't form the majority of our country." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, but Zuko knew this was just show. The fact that Ozai had asked him to come here showed him that his father already knew how to change that.

"So how are you going to win the other side of the population over?" Zuko asked tentatively.

Ozai smiled and took a sip of his drink. "People who are at the bottom of society, people from the south or the mountains. It's mostly these people who won't vote for me. I've got a few plans to win them over, actually. One never suffices." He leaned forward, his elbows on the desk and his fingertips touching, forming a tent. "Zuko, my son. There is something you will have to do for me."

Zuko nodded immediately. "Of course. What is it, father?"

"I want you to get a girlfriend."

Surprise was something Zuko rarely felt while dealing with his father. Why on earth should he get a girlfriend?

"I've shown today that family is very important to me. Partners of my children are family, too. You see, the girlfriend I want you to get has to be from the southern province or the mountains. With her being part of our family there's nothing that will stop these people from voting for me. They'll think that I support poorer people and don't share the beliefs of our ancestors," Ozai explained.

Zuko kind of understood, but why was it him who had to get a partner? Couldn't Azula try to get a boyfriend?

"The normal people love tragic love stories with somehow opposed main characters, don't they? They will be blinded by the sweet love and think that they should vote for me!" Ozai's smile grew wider and he felt again proud about how good his plan was.

Zuko just stared at his father, not saying a word.

Ozai sighed. "What, son? Was this too complicated for you?"

Zuko blinked and quickly shook his head. "No! No, I totally understand where you're coming from. But why me? Why not Azula?"

Ozai shrugged. "I did a bit of research and for some reason people seem to prefer rich men with poor girls and not the other way around. I guess the people still prefer men in higher positions than women."

Zuko's brow furrowed. "I understand. I will do as you ask, father."

A pleased expression appeared on Ozai's features. "Very good, son. There are some other things you should care about when picking this girlfriend." He shoved a paper over the desk to Zuko. "I found out what kind of girl would be most popular with the people and what character the people like the most."

Zuko's eyebrows rose as he saw the list with the title: Zuko's Useful Girlfriend. Although the situation was highly weird he was kind of curious for which kind of girl he should start looking.

_Pretty, but not too beautiful. She must not look like a model, not even have the body of a model. She should be lean, but with womanly curves. Also not too tall._

_Intelligent, should study something difficult (e.g. law, medicine, physics) or do something else useful and practical. Should not be a model. Should not be a singer or actress either._

_Will have to show the people that she is kind, generous and a feminist. But not too feminist!_

_Should have a clear past, NO embarrassing pictures on social medias and no embarrassing social media account. NO arrests._

_Cannot have posted something hostile about our family on social medias._

_Should not come from a rich family. Average family and the girl has to be a family person. But she could also be an orphan. Tragic family past is always appreciated. She should not be interested in money._

How would Zuko ever find a girl like that? He couldn't just cast them and ask them everything on this list! Besides, he didn't even know any girls from the southern province or the mountains!

"This girl will open the majority's hearts and make them vote for me. If I weren't married, I'd try to find someone like that for me. But there's still you, my son." Ozai's voice became more stern and Zuko tensed unconsciously.

"Do not screw this up, Zuko. My victory might depend on that girl, but if you choose wrongly, this girl might even worsen my reputation. So do not choose wrongly!"

/

_This fic will have shorter chapters, but I hope that therefore I'll be able to update it often._

_The family name I gave to Zuko's family is a compound of two Japanese words: "kasai" meaning "fire" and "shi" meaning "lord". I know, this is not really crearive. I have actually no idea if this compound would work in Japanese, since "shi" also means other things. But since the Fire Nation always appeared rather Japanese to me I decided on that laanguage. In Japanese the family name is also mentioned before the first name and only people who are really close to one would call one by his/her first name.  
_

_I always found it strange that Toph was the only person from ATLA with a last name which was not invented. How could the royal familes not have a last name? Yue, Kuei, Zuko... How do the__ people keep families apart then? Anyway, I'll pick a last name for everyone and will probably just google what "icy valleys" and "light-footed" means in Chinese. Or "healer" and "nomad", I'm not quite sure yet. _

_I also wanted to explain that I didn't make a nice guy out of Ozai, but I figured that he could play any roll to get what he wants. I imagine him being a good actor and liar, just like Azula, so he actually can appear nice if it helps him somehow. And to be elected president of a country which hadn't been at war for the last hundred years he has to become popular and has to adapt to the things the people like. Which he will do with ease, because he's cunning like that._

_Actually I can't imagine Chit Sang to be friends with Ozai, but he was the only Fire Nation person who is not related to Ozai, who I could imagine to be funny and entertaining somehow._


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

When Zuko arrived at his apartment he found Jet with a few other people in the living room, playing strip poker. He sighed, not in the mood for any party activities. Against his knowledge he had wished to find a calm and empty apartment after coming home. But Jet loved to have parties in their apartment, since it was rather large and nice. Certainly the furniture was more expensive than the one from any of his friends.

"Hey Zuko, wanna join?" Jet called, an arm around a girl who was only wearing a bra.

"Thanks, I'll pass," he said, rubbing his neck. "You guys have fun!"

Jet chuckled. "Oh, we will!" All the others burst out into laughter and Zuko made his way to his room.

He put his bag on his desk and slumped on his bed, groaning in an annoyed manner, before he pressed his palms onto his eyes.

He still couldn't really believe what his father wanted from him! He understood, but it just felt insane: looking for a girlfriend to boast his father's popularity in the campaign.

He didn't even want a girlfriend! Mai and he had just broken up seven months before and he still wasn't completely over her. He had tried to enjoy his single life in the last few months, due to Jet's "getting-over-a-girl"-process. But one night stands were nothing for him as he had discovered when he hadn't even become aroused as one girl had tried to turn him on. Probably he needed more emotional connection or he was just a pussy, as Jet would say.

But he still had no desire at all to find a new girlfriend. Would he just break up with her after the elections would be over? Did he have to play a role the whole time, making her believe he loved her? How would he even get a girl whose people had been deeply hurt by his ancestors to like or love him?

But maybe it wouldn't be too bad. He could actually find a nice girl, have some fun, maybe even fall in love. But how would he get her to support his father's campaign? Could he even lie to her about his feelings? He was a really bad liar, so maybe he should just tell her the truth. But why would she help him then?

oOo

"I'm so sorry, I totally forgot to call you," Sanyo said, smiling apologetically.

"Call me? Why?" Katara asked, wanting to go behind the counter, but Sanyo stood in her way. Katara frowned deeply. What was her problem? She needed to get ready for her shift!

Santo sighed. "See, the shop isn't doing well and since you were the last person starting to work here, I'm afraid I have to dismiss you."

Katara froze. What? How could she do that? No, no, no no, no! That could not happen! She needed this job! "But...but you can't do that! I need this job! And I'm a good waiter!" she argued, but kept her voice down. She couldn't afford to make a scene, there were customers around the room.

"I know, Katara, but I cannot afford to fire the more experienced waiters. And let's face it, you have almost no restraint. I've been nice to you, because I know you need the job and because I want to support students, but I'v warned you enough times now that you can't keep being sarcastic or sassy to the customers. And yelling is completely inappropriate!"

Katara's breath deepened and her nostrils flared as she clenched her fists. She had only defended herself against arrogant behaviour. "And I told you it was the customers who started it!"

Sanyo narrowed her eyes. "I'm really aware of that, Katara. But we've been over this enough times. No matter how they treat you it is your job to be nice to them."

Katara's jaw clenched as she felt herself tremble with anger. "Is it wrong of me to want to be treated with respect?!" she asked, her voice getting louder and angrier. Some customers were already looking in her direction. "Is it wrong to defend myself against arrogant and sexist people? Someone just had to show them some manners! If I wouldn't do it no one would!" she shouted, stomping with one foot.

"Enough!" Sanyo yelled, slamming her fist on the counter.

Katara jerked slightly.

"It is clearly you who lacks some manners!" Sanyo continued talking with a lower voice. "I know you're a good girl, but this is a restaurant, no court in which you can argue for justice! You're going to become a great lawyer if you'll learn how to restrain yourself! You have so much passion, use it for something useful. And don't insult people in your new job!" Sanyo wiggled her index finger in front of Katara's face, which normally made her angry, but she calmed herself and sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry and am working on it," she mumbled.

Sanyo smiled and patted the student's shoulder. "You see, I know that the Volcano Adventure Land is looking for help. You should also check the pools. If you're lucky you'll become a lifesaver and will be able to boss people around and yell at them."

Heat spread in Katara's cheeks, but she knew where Sanyo was coming from.

Katara was normally a really nice, caring and gentle person, but whenever she felt herself or other people being treated in an unfair way, she snapped. It was as if she became the Hulk sometimes. Because of that her brother had given her the nickname Kat-Hulk. It hadn't been as funny as he had thought.

"Alright," Katara murmured, looking on the ground.

Sanyo lifted her chin to make her look at her. "You are a good girl. You'll find another job."

Katara nodded and tried to smile. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Sanyo chuckled a bit. "It's okay."

Katara pretended that it would be okay and that she would find another job. But actually she was afraid. She needed a job, she couldn't depend on her family any longer. Her grandmother had become sick and her mother stayed home to care for her. Kya could lose her job and her dad's salary wasn't the highest either.

Katara told herself to calm down. She would just ask any of her friends if they knew anything and walk through town, looking for "Help wanted" signs. She wouldn't even care a lot about the new job. She just knew that she had to gain money somehow.

oOo

The next day Zuko and Jet met for lunch in a little pub. It was their favourite eating and drinking spot and while Zuko almost every time stuck to the same things, Jet always ordered something different, wanting to try everything.

After they had given their orders Zuko tried to gather his thoughts, thinking about how to tell Jet about the newest insane thing his father wanted him to do.

"So how did it go last night?" Jet asked, eyebrows raised.

"You didn't watch it?" Zuko asked back.

Jet shook his head. "Nah. No offense, but it's not really entertaining guests for a party to watch something about politics."

Zuko grimaced. "Yeah, probably not." He took a deep breath. "Jet, I need your help. I have to do something incredibly stupid, insane and annoying."

Jet rose his eyebrows. "Am I going into prison for that?"

"What? No!"

"Then I'm in. What is it?" he asked eagerly, leaning forward. Finally something interesting.

Zuko furrowed his brow. "Well, I need a girlfriend..."

Before he could say more, Jet threw his head back and burst out into loud laughter, attracting the looks of other customers, waiters and the barkeeper.

Zuko hated it when people were looking in his direction. "Will you shut up?" he hissed.

Jet simply grinned and wiped imagined tears under his eyes. "Oh man! It was about time you came to me with this!"

Zuko gave him a deadpanned look. "It's not like I want a girlfriend. But unfortunately I need one. My father wants me to get a girlfriend who would boost his popularity for the elections," he explained, talking quietly.

"You're right. That is insane. What should she be like?"

Zuko gave him the list. "Plus, she needs to come from the southern province or the mountains."

Jet nodded. "I see", he murmured after having read the list. "Wow, that's pretty smart, though."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, shaking his head. "It's embarrassing."

"For you! For me it's going to be the most interesting thing that will probably ever happen this year. And the year has only just started," he pointed out, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Will you help me or not?" Zuko asked, looking annoyed. And feeling annoyed, too.

"Of course," Jet said generously, relaxing slightly in his chair.

"Okay, how do we start? How do I find out where a girl comes from?" Zuko asked, leaning forward.

Jet twisted his mouth. "I'd say start with the obvious southerners. Mocha skin, blue eyes." His own eyes became shadowed and he looked down.

Zuko knew Jet was thinking about Katara, his ex-girlfriend from high school, who he hadn't fought for enough. In Zuko's opinion. Jet always said that he didn't care about her breaking up with him, but he was still sad about it five years later. If he had loved her so much, then why hadn't he fought?

"Uhuh," Zuko said, trying to distract Jet. "That is a good idea! Starting with the obvious south looking girls," he murmured, typing it into his phone. He normally didn't plan anything and reacted always spontaneously, but he still felt very uncomfortable and insecure with girls and flirting, so maybe a plan wasn't the worst idea.

"What about Katara?" Jet asked, sounding nonchalantly.

Zuko shrugged. "Don't know, haven't heard anything about her and I don't know people who are still in contact with her."

Jet frowned, shaking his head. "No, I mean, Katara as your girlfriend. She's perfect and fits everything on your list!"

Zuko stared at his best friend in shock. "What? Are you crazy? She's your ex!"

Jet shrugged, taking a sip from his coke. "So?"

"So? So she's taboo!"

"Why? It wouldn't bother me," he said, putting a toothpick between his teeth.

Zuko narrowed his eyes, trying to find a hint of lying in Jet's face, but Jet was a damn good liar. "I don't believe you. You regret that you let her end things then and you still think about her!"

Jet's face contorted in anger. "I'm not! I'm over her! Have been for the last five years!" His voice seemed pretty annoyed and not too angry or anything, so Zuko actually almost believed him.

But he still shook his head. "Even if you don't think about her anymore, she's still your ex. That would be weird."

Jet tensed. "What do you mean? Are you planning on kissing her?"

A frown appeared on Zuko's face. "Well, that's what couples do."

"But you wouldn't be a real couple," Jet objected.

"I know!" Zuko groaned, holding his head in his hands, his elbows on the tabke. "But this girl cannot know! It has to be real for her!"

Jet grimaced. "That sucks!"

"I hate this!"

"What if you engage an actress?" Jet mused, suddenly grinning widely. "Well, yeah, that's the perfect plan!"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "My dad doesn't want actresses and her backstory would be researched by every journalist and if there is anything with acting and no difficult job, I'll be doomed!"

"Doomed? Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Jet asked sceptically.

"You know my father?"

"Well, yeah, but he always seemed nice."

Zuko let out a dry laughter. "Yeah, if he gets what he wants and if I do what he wants, then he's nice... ish."

"You could just pay the girl you need," Jet proposed, playing with his chopsticks. "That way she won't be a professional actress, but you won't have to deal with emotion stuff."

Zuko shook his head. "No! That's totally immoral, what's wrong with you?"

Jet raised an eyebrow. "Ah, and acting as if you were interested and in love is not immoral? Especially since she's probably going to go out of the relationship with a broken heart," he said whining and held a hand over his chest.

Zuko shot him a dry look. "Yeah." He sighed, tearing his hair. "I don't know. This is just so messed up!"

"You know Katara is not wealthy. She could probably use the money," Jet urged.

Zuko glared at him again. "Why do you want your ex to become my fake-girlfriend? Especially since everyone will think that it's real!"

Jet rolled his eyes, leaning forward. "I'm only trying to help you! If you don't want my help, then fine! But Katara is the only person I know who fits most of this description. Do you know anyone else?"

Zuko sighed, shaking his head. He didn't. "No, but I thought I could go into some coffee shops, looking around for darker skinned girls sitting alone or looking in libraries for one."

Jet chuckled amusedly. "Wow, the plan is not too bad. You'll definitely get some desperate, lonely girls that way, who will totally fall for you, but if you're unlucky, they'll become a leech. And if you break up, they'll become stalkers and will kidnap you and if you won't love them back they'll kill you. And I don't think you would find any southern girls alone in coffee shops or libraries. There aren't many of them living here. But there's Katara."

Zuko frowned. "How do you know that Katara lives here?"

"I've seen her," Jet said, shrugging. "I was waiting for you the other day when I saw her on the campus. She's studying law. We talked a bit and yeah... So, you see, I'm totally not interested in getting back together with her. I don't need that bossy behaviour again." He shuddered for emphasis, but Zuko still didn't buy it completely.

"Well, maybe I don't want her bossy presence either. It was bad enough while she wasn't even talking to me and I have no desire at all to know this in a relationship, fake as it would be. Besides, she can't stand me and I can't stand her," he stated, crossing his arms.

Jet frowned. "I thought you liked her. You always told me she was a great girlfriend for me."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Yes, she was, because she was the good and honest kind of girl, but she didn't even know me and broke up with you, because we were friends. That's just shitty."

Jet raised his eyebrows. "You weren't trying to make things better yourself, you know."

"That's not true," Zuko pouted, looking to the side. "I offered her friendship, I was the bigger person, and she walked away."

"You never told me this!"

"Oh, right...," Zuko said quietly, remembering why he had never told Jet about this. It happened after she had broken up with Jet, and he had tried to convince Katara to give him another chance. He hadn't want to hurt Jet more. "Why should I have? It didn't work!"

Jet touched his chin and twisted his mouth. It was his thinking face. Zuko leaned back on his chair and ran his hands through his hair. This was still a disaster, a total nightmare.

"I guess I'm just going to check my fellow students for Southerners or Mountainers before doing anything else."

Jet raised his eyebrows. "How are you going to do that? Break into someone's office and stealing all the student files?"

Zuko smirked slightly. "That's an idea."

Jet grinned at him and Zuko was crazily happy about being able to do something dangerous again. It reminded him of High School.


	4. Chapter 3

_Hi, I'm really sorry this took me so long. I thought I'd have this finished earlier, but I actually pay more attention to my other fan fiction "Love of Fire and Water" (you should check it out) and am mostly writing this one on my mobile phone when I'm in the tram or in the bus. But I didn't use public transport that often last week, soo... yeah, that's why this took me so long. _

_Just a small warning: There will be hints at adult topics in this chapter. I hope it's not too much, but I'm really thinking about changing the rating, because the characters are already adults, and since I want to keep it realistic, I'll write them like adults with adult language and stuff. It's especially really hard to keep an adult Jet child-friendly. But I'll tell you when or if I'm going to change the rating._

_Please enjoy, I hope you like it and if you do, then please review!_

_I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

_/_

Chapter Three

It wasn't that difficult to sneak into the registrar's office as Zuko had thought. Okay, he wasn't sneaking, he was breaking in. In high school he had once helped Jet sneaking into the administration office, while they had had a break. Jet had been talking to the secretary, distracting her, while Zuko had sneaked into the file room. But he had a feeling that this wouldn't work with the way larger registrar's office at the university.

But with some equipment he had gathered over the years it wasn't that big of a deal. He knew that burglary wouldn't exactly boost his father's population either, but he was confident not to be caught.

The file section was divided into subjects and number of semesters. Zuko looked only into medicine, law, physics, engineering, mathematics, biology, geography, psychology, chemistry, history, politics and economy. It was still a lot, though. And he wanted to look into other subjects, if he wouldn't find anything here.

These groups were sorted alphabetically after the students' family name. Zuko only looked into the files whose family names sounded as if they were from the south or the mountains.

His eyes narrowed when he came to the family name Qinu within the subject of law. But he was curious and opened it nonetheless. But except for her enrolment number and the number of her semester he didn't really read anything new about Katara. But he still found it strange that he hadn't seen her here, although she had been at the university for three semesters now.

He quickly put back her file and continued searching for other southern sounding names.

But he really didn't find any. And no girls from the mountains either.

After four o'clock in the morning he roared angrily and nearly threw the last file on the ground. But then the file would look dishevelled and then somebody would probably know that someone broke into the registrar's office.

It was really difficult for him to contain his anger, while he tidied up and quietly left the place, closing and locking every door behind him. Only after he'd run to the parking lot and inside his car did he allow his anger to wash over him.

He slammed the door shut, threw his mask off his head on the passenger seat and banged his fists on the steering wheel.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuuuuuuck! Aaarrrggghhhhh!" His teeth gritted and he felt desperation come over him and only stopped hitting the steering wheel after he accidentally honked. He flinched, totally not expecting this loud sound and sighed, his forehead leaning on the wheel.

"Weeeeell," a voice from the passenger seat drawled. "I guess it didn't go so well then."

"Shut up!"

Jet shrugged, picking Zuko's mask from his lap and threw it on the back seat.

Suddenly Zuko straightened, glaring daggers at his friend. "What are you even doing here? You were supposed to wait outside the office to call me if there was someone coming!"

Jet rolled his eyes. "I can see the registrar's office from here just fine. So I chose to stay here. It's friggin' cold out there and I'm already freezing in here!"

Zuko groaned in annoyance, because he couldn't even shout at his best friend for a good reason.

"Sooo... coffee shop?" Jet asked, his grin obvious in his voice.

Zuko really, really much wanted to punch his stupid grin out of his face.

oOo

Relief and happiness rushed through Katara, as she saw her brother waiting outside the indoor pool.

After having got the third rejection from a job she grew more and more desperate. She didn't even know why she had been rejected. It was true, she didn't have much experience with being life savers or working in a theme park, but how difficult could it be to sell hot dogs to children? Well, she probably shouldn't have said this to the boss of the theme park, but she had still been so pissed at how Aang had behaved earlier that day. She really needed to get a grip on herself. Her being pissed at Aang had nothing to do with this job.

"Sokka!" she called, jogging towards him and hugging him tightly.

"Hey, easy there!" Sokka complained, as she nearly crushed his ribs. "Whoa! What got you so worked up?"

Scowling she let him go. "Some stupid brats."

Sokka lifted an eyebrow. It was really unlike Katara to get angry at children. She normally fuzzed over them, telling them how cute they were and totally changing into the mommy behaviour.

She sighed. "They were really provoking me and being mean on purpose. After I had given them their hot dogs, all of them let them fall down and demanded new ones with chocolate bars and then they walked away, only to come back later with their parents who shouted at me for putting chocolate bars in buns! It was what the children wanted! But they only snickered and always feigned innocence when their parents looked at them. And then the boss of the park came over and he witnessed everything and when he said goodbye to me, it really sounded as if I would never get a job there." She grabbed her brother's coat. "Why do I have so much bad luck right now?!"

"Oh, wow, Katara, come on. I bet it wasn't that bad," Sokka said, tapping her back awkwardly. He really loved his sister and wanted her to feel better, but normally she was she one comforting him, not the other way around. What would she do?

"It was worse," Katara mumbled, putting a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Wanna go drink a hot chocolate?" Sokka asked, because he really wanted one, but also because he remembered that their mother always made hot chocolate for them when they were feeling sad because of something. Furthermore, in this one coffee shop close to the university he had seen a pretty girl with short auburn hair pretty often and hoped she would be there again.

Katara's mood lifted immediately at the prospect of hot chocolate. "Yeah, let's go to Coffee Cups." It was one of her favourite coffee shops, probably because it looked so ancient and more like grandma's living room than a coffee shop. It was no chain and it always gave her a feeling of home and warmth. Probably because they also had a fire place in there. "I'm so cold."

Sokka frowned, not liking how his sister intervened with his plans. "Didn't you shower after swimming?"

Katara shrugged and started to walk in the direction of Coffee Cups. "I did, but the shower was cold."

Sokka made a short shivering motion. "Oh gods, how can you do this?"

Katara shrugged again. "It revives my spirit and lets me think clearer." But it hadn't really worked this time. After the horrible interview and trial work she had directly gone to the swimming pool, hoping to clear her mind and get the desperation out of her mind. But no matter how many rounds she had swum, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about her current predicament. How difficult could it be to get a new job?

"Okay. Well, I kind of wanted to check out this coffee shop at the university. Friends told me their hot chocolate was even better than the one from Coffee Cups," Sokka told her nonchalantly.

Katara raised an eyebrow, not believing one word. "Oh, yeah, this _one _coffee shop at the university. Your friends are right, it's really good."

Sokka scowled at her. "I don't know what's it called, I only know where it is."

"Do we have to, Sokka?" Katara asked, actually close to whining which shocked Sokka a bit.

But he insisted. "Come one, they also have pancakes and waffles! You know how much I love those!"

"Your year in the United States clearly changed you," Katara replied.

Sokka's eyes brightened. "Katara, I saw the world. Through the USA. And I saw waffles. Lots of waffles."

"You know they originally come from Belgium, don't you?" Katara asked, raising one eyebrow.

Sokka shrugged. "Yeah, just like chips. Or french fries, like the Americans say."

Katara rolled her eyes again. After Sokka had come back from the USA everything with him had always been "in America that", "in America this", "the Americans do that, and they do this". She also felt a little bit envious, since there were a few things she'd like to see there, too. But Elementia was already so great, why did she need to leave to some other country just for fun? In Ethiopia she had helped people, that was something else.

"Fine," she relented. "Then let's go to that waffle coffee shop of yours." Her voice sounded a bit annoyed, but she wasn't in the mood to argue. Dealing with those stupid brats and swimming had worn her out a bit.

"Have you talked to Aang lately?" Katara asked Sokka cautiously.

Sokka flinched and Katara knew she was right.

"What did he say?" Katara asked.

"Uhm... not much. We just decided to stay friends, no matter what happens between you two," Sokka explained, feeling uncomfortable. "And I made it clear that I don't take anyone's side."

Katara frowned. "This is not about sides, Sokka! Aang and I are not together anymore and I would love to stay Aang's friend, too, but I will have to wait until he accepts this. And if it were about sides, you should definitely be on mine! I'm your sister!"

Sokka held his hands up, not wanting to have to deal with an angry Katara. "I'm not on anyone's side! And of course, Katara, I'll always support any decision you make!" he assured her and laid an arm around her shoulders.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah." Then she sighed. "I wish this was easier. Why can't we go back to how it was in High School?"

Sokka sighed wistfully. "Yeah, high school was a great time!" Then he grimaced. "Except having to deal with Jet, this guy was the worst!"

"Hey! He wasn't that bad!" Katara protested. "Azula and Zuko were the worst," she murmured.

"Fortunately we didn't have to deal much with them outside of school."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "I've seen Jet at the university lately, actually," she admitted.

"WHAT?" Sokka exclaimed, gasping at Katara with utter horror in his eyes. "You have seen who at the what?"

"Jet. On the campus."

Sokka faked some gagging sounds, actually pretending to strangle himself.

"Oh my gods, Sokka! This is so childish! Will you stop that?" Katara barked at him, feeling embarrassed, because the people on the street were already staring.

Sokka, of course, didn't stop. He continued, until his eyes rolled back and he pretended to have died.

Katara quickly pulled him closer to her, before he walked against a street lamp.

Sokka didn't even notice it. "This is exactly how I will end, if you ever end up with this guy again," he explained seriously to her. "So if I mean anything to you, please don't."

Katara rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to. I just saw him and we talked to each other." She hurried to make it over the street while the green light was still on. Sokka jogged beside her.

"Why was he at the university? He's not actually studying there, is he?" Sokka wanted to know, his voice sounded doubtful.

Katara furrowed her brow. "No, he isn't. He was waiting for Zuko there," she said, nearly spitting out his name.

Sokka grimaced. "Seriously? They are still friends? What an idiot!"

Katara shrugged. "I don't care. Jet was a mistake anyway, so I don't care at all with who he's hanging out with. Except it will be the son of the next president, then I'm gonna puke!"

Sokka laughed a little. "Yeah, that would be sooooooo terrible. But I don't think the population will be dumb enough to vote for someone as evil and egocentric as Kasaishi Ozai."

Katara grinned. "You're right. He doesn't have a chance. By the way, next week is a demonstration in front of city hall from the southern province community against having Kasaishi running for president. Wanna come?"

"You need to ask?" Sokka grinned at her.

Katara grinned back.

Soon they arrived at the coffee shop and sat at a table at a window. This coffee shop had nothing warm and cosy about it. The tables were of metal and the chairs of hard and squeaky wood. The walls were of a dark wood with thousands of pictures hanging everywhere, showing all the most different things. Landscapes and children laying laughing on the grass.

Katara looked disapprovingly, but she didn't need to say anything, Sokka knew this look pretty well. He tried to ignore it.

They both ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream and Sokka asked Katara if she wanted to have waffles, too, but she refused. She would just steal one from him.

Sokka told her about his new courses for engineering and that he was close to invent the greatest invention of all time. Katara knew that he was just exaggerating and trying to show off. It was so obvious. First, because of what he talked about and second, because he was glancing at a group of girls in sports gear the whole time to see if they paid attention to him. They did, but they were actually making fun of him. Not that Sokka noticed. Katara felt second-hand embarrassment, but didn't know if she should feel sorry for Sokka or just laugh with the girls. And then third, Sokka started talking about all the hours he spent in the fitness centre and how well his muscles had developed and what he already had managed to achieve there.

Katara tried to hide her smile while spooning her whipped cream.

She was actually a waiting for Sokka's waffles since she felt a bit hungry.

When Katara had the feeling Sokka was talking about his great manly instincts and his admirable hunting skills (although it might have been something else, she wasn't listening anymore), she placed a hand over his and squeezed it.

"Sokka," she said smiling. "The girls of the capital aren't looking for men who will protect and take care of them. They are not like the girls back home," she explained.

Sokka looked really taken aback, but he quickly got a hold of himself and chuckled. "You always were really perceptible, Katara."

She just rolled her eyes. One of her favourite actions when dealing with her brother.

"But Katara, I'm fine! I can perfectly handle myself in front of some girls. I know what they want," he said confidently, taking a sip of his drink and getting a cream moustache from it. But he was aware of that and wiped it away. "They all want the same thing. At home, they wanted someone who was strong and could hunt, someone whose fireplace would never be cold. Here, they want money. So a guy only needs to have a great career. If he looks good, even better. If he's muscly, then he's perfect."

Katara got more and more annoyed with Sokka. "Are you serious? Not every girl wants that! These are not important things!"

Sokka smirked. "Of course, they are, Katara. It is biology. Women want to be taken care of."

Katara was now hot with anger and really needed to control her urge to shout at Sokka and maybe toss her hot chocolate in his face. But the hot chocolate was way too good to be wasted on such a sexist idiot like Sokka.

"Sokka, you are embarrassing yourself. Haven't you noticed that it's the 21st century? Women have more rights and definitely want more in their life than just a rich, good-looking man!" she hissed at him.

Sokka just shrugged. "Maybe that's what you want. But I'm talking about women in general. And whatever anomaly has come over you, normal women want to be taken care of."

Katara decided not to argue with Sokka anymore. He would notice he was wrong one day anyway. Maybe a woman would break his heart, although he had taken care of her, or a woman wouldn't want him, because he was a sexist. Either way, Katara would tell him "I told you so!".

When Sokka's waffles arrived Katara was almost salivating, but frowned, noticed that they had bacon on top of them. She grimaced. "Sokka, what did you do?"

He took a large bite of a waffle with bacon. "What?"

"Bacon? Seriously?"

"That's my lunch! I need meat for lunch!"

"It's four o'clock in the afternoon!"

"It's my lunch, because I had breakfast at eleven."

Katara narrowed her eyes, finding it truly unfair that Sokka got to sleep in so long and she didn't. Well, he had placed his courses well this semester.

Katara reached over to Sokka's plate and tore a piece from the waffle without bacon.

"Hey!" Sokka protested, but wasn't fast enough to get the waffle piece back.

Katara just grinned, but her smile quickly vanished, when she caught sight of a tall, lean boy with tanned skin, despite the dark winter, and brown messy hair. He looked confident and smirked, when his eyes found her.

Sokka noticed Katara's changed expression and turned around, frowning suddenly.

Katara nodded, tried to smile and continued chewing, hoping that Jet would leave them alone. She didn't need a provoking/testosterone match between him and her brother right now. Or at any time.

But her prayers were unheard. She stifled a groan, when Jet made his way to them, grinning.

"Hey, Katara!" he said, standing in front of the chair next to Sokka. "Mind if I sit down, Sokka? I'm not gonna stay long."

Sokka scowled and looked at Katara who shot him a glare which meant 'Stay friendly!', so Sokka shook his head. "No, I don't mind!"

"Thanks!" Jet exclaimed and sat down. "It has been a long time, Sokka. What are you doing?"

"Studying engineering," Sokka replied and kept eating, using it as an excuse not to have to talk so much.

"Wow, that sounds great. I bet you're doing well. You were always good at sciences and stuff in high school," Jet said, but looking at Katara who drank from her hot chocolate, glancing at the boys.

"Mhm," Sokka hummed.

"Jet, what is it exactly what you're doing?" Katara asked. "Are you... studying here?" She looked cautiously into his eyes.

Jet's grin spread and he chuckled. "No! I'm not that intellectual kind of guy. I did study at a military academy after high school and noticed that it's not really my thing. I'm learning to become an estate agent."

Katara couldn't help but chuckling. "Wow, I guess except for pharmaceutical representative this is the best job you could ever get. It really suits you."

Jet's grin didn't fade for one second, but he also didn't quite get why Katara was saying that.

Sokka nodded. "You're right. Someone as smarmy as Jet here will always convince people to buy things they don't need or want to have. Hey, wait, didn't you already practise this in high school?" Sokka asked beaming with wide eyes and a clear sarcastic tone to it.

Katara frowned. She would have known if Jet had ever done _that_.

(She hadn't known, although it had been right before her eyes the whole time.)

Jet only raised an eyebrow and suddenly grinned cockily. "Sure, but it was never about buying, just making people aware of what it was they _really _wanted." He moved his eyebrows suggestively.

Sokka was there with the gagging motions again and Katara rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks heating, remembering certain things from their relationship very well.

When Jet beat Sokka's back slightly, Katara noticed that Sokka wasn't really faking gagging sounds, he was just choking on his waffle. He drank something to clear his throat and leaned on his rest, taking huge gulps of air.

Katara just watched him flatly.

"Uh, hey," someone from her left suddenly said.

A tall lean young man with short, back-combed black hair and pale skin stood at their table, looking uncomfortable. He wore dark jeans and a brown wool coat with a red scarf.

His eyes were narrow and his eyebrows dark, forming a flat triangle, giving him a stern, but also pretty look together with the straight nose, high cheekbones and angular jaw.

He looked great, really handsome, but also somehow rejecting. His features were smooth, no stubble, no scowl, he actually looked nice, but something about him made Katara's skin crawl with unease. And it was not just because no matter how good he looked and how hot he had become after high school, she still couldn't stand him. She had always felt this rejection radiating of off him, even in high school. It was if something inside him never wanted people to come close.

Instinctively she wanted to narrow her eyes, but quickly let it be, when she noticed that he didn't look sulky. Her narrow eyes had always been a reaction to his facial expression, which had most of the time been sulky.

Jet grinned up at his friend. "Hey Zuko! Look who I just found!"

Now Zuko scowled at Jet, and Katara thought he was a jerk for scowling at his friend. Friends didn't do that to each other, so Zuko was clearly not appreciating friendship the way a sane person would. Because she never scowled at her friends. Never.

But Zuko's expression quickly changed when he looked at a scowling Sokka and a narrow-eyed Katara. He looked cautious and wary, and a bit tensed, too.

"Hi Sokka, hi Katara! It's nice seeing you again," he said, his voice raspy and he quickly cleared his throat and then rubbed his neck. He was a bad liar.

Seeing him so uneasy really pleased Katara. His sister was nowhere to be seen, so she didn't have to worry about being pushed in the hallway or having her clothes stolen from her locker or getting a ball kicked at her head, just because saying something nasty to Zuko. But now she could say to him everything she wanted to.

/

_Answers to reviews:_

_To_ uchihaNaruto247 (_: Uh... No, it's not. There is no harem in this story, for no one. I despise the practice of harems. I'm actually quite confused and worried how you got this idea, because if you got it, it means others could get it, too, and I don't want anyone to think there will be a harem in my story. So what made you think of a harem? (So that I can rewrite this part to make it clearer for the readers.) :)  
_

_To _Guest_: Thank you very much! I hope I'll be able to keep it that way.:)_

_To (other?) _Guest_: Here, I did it! And again, sorry it took me so long! I really liked your review, though, I totally had a laughing fit! :D_


	5. Chapter 4

_Hi! _

_I have a really good reason for such a late update! Everyone who's reading my other fic "Love of Fire and Water" already knows. I had the final exams of this semester this week and had to study last week, that's why this update is so late. But after coming home today from my last exam (I am so happy the exams are over and I don't have to study anymore! for two months) I immediately sat down to write another chapter. And here it is! I hope you guys like it! And if you do, then please review (rhyme not intended)!_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor any of its characters. _

/

Chapter Four

Zuko was pretty sure that this had been Jet's doing. Somehow he had managed to get Katara and him into the same coffee shop at the same time. Although, considering Zuko's bad luck, it could also just be a coincidence. Either way, he hated it. He only wanted to get out of this situation and that as quickly as possible.

Sokka looked mostly annoyed, as if a great day had turned into something nasty. Zuko felt the same way.

But Katara looked threatening and accusing. That was normal for him, although he had no idea what she accused him of. It had been the same thing in high school, really. If Katara's locker hadn't opened or her sandwich had fallen on the floor it had always been Zuko's fault.

"Jet, you, uh...," Zuko began, not knowing how to say "I will not sit down here, so let's get to another table" without offending Katara and Sokka. Or making them hate him more. Was that even relevant? Didn't they already hate him?

"Yes, I'm going to get us coffees, Zuko," Jet exclaimed, standing up and began to open Zuko's coat.

He snarled, catching Jet's wrists. "What the hell are you doing?"

Jet raised his eyebrows. "Taking off your coat. It will be much more comfortable for you when you sit down." He gestured to the seat next to Katara.

Katara looked up, her eyes wide with shock, probably matching Zuko's expression. He couldn't stop himself anymore. "You want me to sit down? Next to her?" he specified, his voice sarcastic.

Katara gasped. "Excuse me?" She looked highly offended and crossed her arms under her breasts.

Zuko shot her a glare. "As if you wanted me to sit there." He let go of Jet's wrists. "When you've finished here, Jet, I'll sit on the other end of the shop."

He kept his voice cold and a bit arrogant, doing so on purpose. Something about Katara always brought out his bad side. He didn't know why it was he couldn't stand her. She wasn't annoying or evil or arrogantly full of herself. She had acted that way with him, but she had also gone berserk on anyone who dared to treat another person in an unfair way. And he actually had always liked and admired that about her. Too bad her mere presence put him off. So bossy and demanding and way too many emotions for one person to handle. Okay, maybe he did know what he didn't like about her.

He wanted to turn around and leave without another word, but a hand grabbed his arm. He looked at Katara, raising one eyebrow. She glared ice daggers at him.

"Are you actually serious, you jerk? You're too good to sit with us, or what?" She stood up and went toe to toe with him.

He really much wanted to back away, but something kept him glued in place.

"You think because you're from the capital we are not worth your presence? Because we're only southerners?!" she spat at him.

Zuko let out a low growl, feeling that his self-control snapped. He hadn't got so angry in a long time. "You're calling me a jerk? Oh right, because only jerks don't want to sit next to people who hate them? If you think I don't want to sit with you because of what region you're from you couldn't be more wrong!"

"What are you talking about? Sokka and I don't hate you!" she shot back, stemming her hands on her hips.

Sokka twisted his mouth and raised an eyebrow. "Speak for yourself, sis," he murmured.

"If you're gonna sit at another table, it'd be because of your prejudices and not because Sokka's and my presence is not enjoyable!"

"I don't have any prejudices against you!" Zuko snapped, not caring who else heard them.

"Prove it!"

Narrowing his eyes he wondered if he could get out of this situation by doing something other than sitting next to her, but as he calmed down he noticed people pointing fingers at him and whispering. His family name was uttered and Zuko stiffened. If his father heard of him arguing with a girl from the south in public...

He blinked, laying his hands on Katara's shoulders, feeling half afraid that she would bite him and shoved her back on her chair, so that he had space to sit down next to her.

He sat stiff and upright, almost not moving.

Sokka's mouth stood open and his chopsticks were still on the way to his mouth.

Zuko let go of Katara's shoulders and turned around, staring straight ahead.

Jet grinned to himself and murmured that he was going to get them coffee.

Zuko wondered if sitting here was enough. Or did he have to talk to the siblings? His personal high school nightmare?

oOo

Katara swallowed, fidgeting with her long braid. She hadn't expected Zuko to really sit down. And she had lied. Sokka and she did hate him, but she hadn't wanted to be accused of something like hatred.

Katara was a nice and honest person and she was always friendly to the people around her. To everyone except for Zuko. But still, to be accused of hatred... This was too much.

Her eyes had gone so wide when he had touched her shoulders. She had been caught by surprise and didn't have time to react to this.

She gazed desperately at her brother, wanting him to make Zuko leave. But Sokka would have nothing of that. He only raised an eyebrow, meaning "You got yourself into this situation. You have to solve it."

Katara sighed, gritting her teeth. She was no person who hated. And if this was really Zuko's only reason for not wanting to sit next to her, then maybe he wasn't as arrogant as she had thought. He had said that he didn't care where she came from. But he was a Kasaishi. How could he not care?

"Soooo, Zuko. What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound nice.

"You said I needed to prove that I don't have prejudices," he replied stiffly.

Katara rolled her eyes. "No, I meant in this coffee shop at the university. Are you studying here?"

Zuko glanced hesitantly at her. "Yes. I'm studying economics and law."

Katara widened her eyes. Oh no, they had something in common?

He cleared his throat. "And you? Are you two studying here, too?"

Sokka was still eating and looked at Katara to answer for him. "Yes," she said cautiously, feeling as if she would give an enemy too much information about herself. "Sokka's studying engineering. He's nearly finished. And I'm studying law... too."

Zuko nodded as if he had expected this.

Katara narrowed her eyes instantly. "What? You knew this?"

"Jet told me," he said, as if he didn't care at all.

"Then why did you ask?" she hissed.

"Because I didn't want to seem impolite by not asking you back," he snapped, eyes blazing with anger.

She opened her mouth, ready to retort, but nothing came to her mind. "Oh," escaped her lips and she couldn't help feeling surprised.

Sokka had swallowed and chuckled a bit.

"What?" Katara and Zuko snapped at him at the same time.

"I just did never think that Zuko could actually try to be polite," he said, laughing as if he had made a good joke.

Zuko scowled at him, putting his elbows on the table and burying his face in his hands. He grumbled something inaudibly.

Katara wanted to know what he said, but didn't want to ask. She chose to pretend Sokka's idiotic behaviour didn't happen. "Then you're almost finished with studying, aren't you, Zuko?"

He looked up at her. "No, I'm not. I started this semester."

She frowned. "Then what did you do before?" Being a bad influence on Jet?

"I studied at a military academy for three years."

Sokka raised his eyebrows, looking impressed. After all, their dad had been to a military academy, too, and Hakoda was Sokka's hero.

"Really? What was it like?" he asked.

Zuko looked thoughtful. "Okay, I guess. They were strict, but we learned some interesting stuff about the military and battle strategies and weapons. It..."

"Really? Did you learn how to slaughter or torture your own people for no sensible reason there, too? For example how to burn or whip people?" Katara asked in a sweet voice. She hadn't been able to stop herself.

Torturing southern women to get them to admit that they were working with demons had been normal those days. And burning and whipping had been the most used torture methods. Katara had learned that at school. But she didn't know so specifically what the Kasaishi kings had ordered to do with the Mountainers.

Zuko just mentioned casually the military, as if a hundred years ago, it wouldn't have done anything his ancestors wanted.

But she regretted saying this as soon as she had. She might not stand him and regardless what he'd said, he definitely had prejudices against her people, but he hadn't slaughtered them. It was not his fault.

Zuko looked shocked and hurt, as if she had kicked a puppy and asked him if he wanted to eat it. She quickly mirrored his expression, not understanding why she had said this.

But a scowl was soon to hide Zuko's feelings and he snarled. "I knew it," he muttered, more to himself as he stood up and left, not only went to another table, but actually left the shop. Through the windows Katara saw that he was crossing the square in front of the coffee shop, walking towards the end of it, where the university library was.

Katara stared at his back, feeling confused at how much she wanted to apologise to him. She knew what she had said was wrong, but she didn't think she would want to make _him_ feel better.

Sokka whistled. "Wow, that was low. Incredibly low, sis."

"I know," she groaned, pressing her fingertips against her temples. "I didn't mean to say it. It just... happened."

"It was unfair," Sokka stated. "I think he actually tried to be nice and..."

"Shut up! You were only listening, because he talked about the military!" Katara barked at him.

Sokka hadn't expected such an outburst and flinched.

"Where did Zuko go?" Jet suddenly asked, standing next to the table, scratching his chin.

"Katara drove him away. Very efficiently," Sokka explained, having a tone of accusation in his voice.

"What?" Jet hissed.

"She made a very dumb comment about his ancestors. You know, because they killed and tortured our ancestors. And Katara gave nice examples of torture, for example whipping," Sokka said uncaringly and ate his last bite.

Jet stared at Katara, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows contorted.

Katara knew she had screwed up when even Jet looked disapprovingly at her.

"Should I...," she hesitated, glancing alternatingly at Sokka and Jet. Finally she groaned and got up. "Fine, I'll follow him and apologise."

She quickly walked around Jet, who caught her by her elbow. "Mean it, when you apologise," he said seriously.

She frowned, noticing that this meant that Zuko was important to Jet, which she could totally not understand. Jet being serious was in any case really strange.

But she nodded, turned around and ran. She just ran straight forward and realised that she had forgotten her coat in the shop. Biting her teeth together she didn't even think of turning around when she spotted Zuko's back. She really didn't want to see Sokka's bemused look if she would come back for her coat, and also not Jet's angry look.

"Zuko, wait!" she shouted when she was close enough.

She saw him stiffen, but he just kept walking and Katara nearly roared with rage. How dare he ignore her, when she wanted to apologise?

"Zuko, stop!" She laid a hand on his shoulder and wanted to turn him around, but he was awfully stubborn and tense.

Groaning in annoyance she stood before him, planting her hands on her hips. "Okay, look, I'm sorry for what I said, okay?"

She stared at him and saw his contorted face. The way his brows furrowed, his jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. Apparently he was still angry.

"Sure you are," he said dryly and tried to continue walking, but Katara stepped in his way again and held her hands up, so that he did not fall right on her.

"No, I really am." She swallowed and looked at the ground, sighing. "It was wrong to say this, I know that. You didn't have anything to do with what your ancestors did and I... I shouldn't have let my anger out on you. It's just that... well, every time I see you or think of you I just get angry and all I can think of is how to... uh... insult you. I know that's really childish and I know I just went too far. That wasn't okay." She looked up at him, wanting him really much to accept her apology, because she didn't like it when she did something wrong and people stayed angry with her.

Zuko's facial expression was full of surprise. "Wow. You actually mean it."

"Of course I do," she snapped. "Now, do you accept my apology or not?"

He twisted his mouth and crossed his arms. "I don't know. I guess I'll have to think about it."

"What? Come on, Zuko, I didn't mean what I said!"

He shook his head. "No, you did. You're realising you went too far, but you meant it. You hate my family, you always have. I just don't get why. If you really understand that I had nothing to do with my ancestor's crimes, then why don't you understand that the rest of my family is just as innocent?"

His questions surprised Katara. Zuko had never argued back or accused her of something like that. Accusing her of shoving him into the dirt or of stealing his food, yes, but not something as deep as this. How did he even get it that Katara's hatred was so deep?

She looked away. "I... I guess I understand that, too. But... They are your ancestors. Their blood runs through your veins. How could you not be like them? You might not have done what they did, but who says you won't? That your father won't if he gets elected president?"

Zuko laughed dryly. "Are you serious? You really think that, don't you?"

Frowning she nodded. "Yes, I do. I've heard it all my life, the stories about the old evil Kasaishi kings. What they did to my people and so on." Nervously she fidgeted with her hair. "I've known since forever that there were still Kasaishis among us. Our elders told us, that if we would let our guard down and feel safe, you would continue your ancestors' work and completely destroy us."

Zuko blinked. He looked surprised and shocked at the same time. For a few seconds he remained still. Then he opened his mouth. "You southerners really believe this shit?" He didn't sound angry, only confused and shocked, which made his voice sounding raspy.

Katara was still fidgeting, because she feared that she made herself and her people look like dumb idiots. "Yes?"

Seeing Zuko's disgusted expression woke her anger again. "But when I left the south and lived in the east, I learned more about history there, and I couldn't believe that you would actually want to take back control over the country. Most people never tried genocide again. It was only when I met you that I thought the elders from the south could be right after all."

Zuko flinched. "What? Do I look as if I wanted to take over Elementia?" he snapped.

Katara looked him up and down. Well, he did look rich and posh, because of his combed-back hair, the cashmere scarf and the disturbingly English looking coat. But he didn't look evil. But still, no evil person ever looked that way.

"I really got better things to do in my life," Zuko went on. "And as far as I'm concerned I could have stayed out of politics for the rest of my life, too!" He paid attention not to say the last bit too loud.

"Then what do you want to do?" Katara bored, feeling sure that he was lying.

Zuko looked even more confused and Katara got annoyed by that look. He shrugged. "I guess I'll just take over my father's company. If he gets elected he won't have time for that anymore and when I'm finished with studying, then I'll get a job there anyway."

Katara frowned and looked miserable. Her own stupid situation came back to her mind. "Would it really be so easy for you to get a job? Even somewhere else? Just because of who your father is?"

"Not everywhere, no. If my interviewer would be from the south or the mountains, I guess I would be rejected," he said matter-of-factly, and Katara felt quite taken aback by this.

"But I don't think that every southerner or mountainer- is so prejudiced as you are," he said, leaning a bit forward, a smirk pulling at his lips. "I guess the one with prejudices is you."

Blinking Katara stepped back and shook her head. "No, it is because of you that I started to think like that. You got along with everyone in high school! You were only mean to Aang, Sokka and me! This totally confirmed my believes!"

Zuko blinked again, rubbing his neck. "Oh, yeah, you're right there. But if it helps... In the beginning I also couldn't stand Jet. Or Toph. I just... got used to them. And they didn't insult me the whole time. So if you think I didn't like you because you and Sokka are from the south and Aang from the mountains, you're wrong. You were just annoying."

Katara huffed and stemmed her hands on her hips. "I only annoyed you, because you were an arrogant idiot!"

Zuko twisted his mouth and shrugged. "Yeah, I was. But you weren't better. You used every opportunity you could to get on my bad side."

Katara frowned, noticing that he was right. She hadn't tried to get along with him, not even tried to get to know him. She had thought of talking to him when he had been new, but then he had made Aang cry and that had been it. One mistake and she had sworn to hate him forever. Of course, he had hurt her friend, and Katara was a loyal and protective person, but had it been wrong not to give Zuko a chance?

He sighed and shouldered his bag. "Whatever. I accept your apology for what happened before. I guess I get why you thought like that. Uh... I have to go now to the library...," he said slowly, pointing at the large building in front of them.

Katara didn't know what she was doing, only that she was doing it. She stopped him from walking away. Maybe she had felt sorry for him or she wanted to make things better between them. She didn't know. But somehow an apology didn't feel like enough.

"Wait, uh, you wanted to meet with Jet, didn't you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah... But that's not really necessary. I see him every day, it's not that big of a deal."

"Still. Erm... Let's go back to the shop. I'll pay your coffee."

He frowned. "You don't have to do that. I already said..."

She didn't want to listen to this and grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the coffee shop. He yelped in a surprised manner, but followed her. She noticed that his hand was really warm. As soon as she noticed he was walking next to her, she looked at him and they both let go of each other's hands, as if they had the rabies.

Katara bit down on her lip and heard Zuko clearing his throat.

"Why do you see Jet so often?" Katara asked. "Are you maybe a couple?" she asked curiously. It had always been strange to her how Jet could like such a taciturn and grim looking person. But when Jet had just remembered her to mean it, when she apologised, she had felt remembered of how he had behaved when someone had hurt her in high school.

Zuko pulled the most disgusted and shocked grimace ever, which was actually pretty fun. His face normally didn't move a lot, only a scowl looked intense on his face, but every other emotions were very restricted. "What? No! No, never!" he shouted, waving his hands a bit.

Katara felt surprised that this uptight young man next to her gestured around like Sokka always did.

"Jet is just... my best friend and we're also not gay! I guess Jet wouldn't actually mind being with a man," he mused. "But I would mind! I don't have any prejudices against gays, if you think that now, but I would actually be disgusted at that prospect."

Katara grinned to herself, finding it funny how he got so worked up by that. Guys with too much testosterone...

She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing the cold wind would leave her alone.

"And we're roommates. That's why I see him every day," Zuko explained.

"Oh, really?" Katara asked, sounding surprised. "So you've been together since high school?"

He shot her a glare.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Not like a couple, just... together. You both went to the military academy, after all."

Zuko nodded. "Yeah, we actually were roommates then, too."

"You know, I never understood why you two were friends," Katara confessed and rubbed her arms.

Zuko shrugged. "I think it's really easy. You never liked me."

She felt a pinch of guilt. "I didn't mean that. I just meant your personalities. I always thought you wouldn't stand someone as lively and talkative as Jet. And I always thought you would just be a posh, rich, and arrogant boy to Jet."

He made a face as if he was thinking about it. "This is true. Jet's personality really annoys me sometimes. And he's always teasing me, because of my clothes and what I'm eating and stuff..."

"Okay, now I understand nothing."

"Yeah, me neither."

Katara nearly laughed. Had he just tried to be funny?

She looked over and saw that he was taking off his coat. Her jaw nearly dropped. "Are you crazy being hot? It's freezing!"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not hot. But I don't get cold fast. And the winter here is still a lot warmer than the one in the south, isn't it?"

She nodded, admitting it.

"The coat is for you," he said and draped it over her shoulders.

She stiffened when his fingers touched her neck. "What? No, I'm okay!"

"You're freezing," he just said and stared forward, keeping walking, as if this was a totally normal thing for him to do, lending his coat to other people.

Katara just stared, nodding. Yes, she was freezing. But that he... really lent her his coat?

"Uh, thanks. It's not necessary, since we're almost there..." she murmured, but pulled the coat tighter around her shoulders. It was still warm from his body.

Zuko shrugged. "Don't mention it."

She nodded and thought of something else to say or ask. Now that she thought that he really wasn't so bad or prejudiced she wanted to be nice, and asking about his life would be something nice to do.

"Do you often come to this coffee shop?" she asked, biting on the inside of her lip. Who did ask such a dumb question? Urgh!

"Yeah. I like the tea there," he said and Katara nodded. Ah.

"And what about you?" he asked and surprised her with the question. But right, he asked back to be polite.

"I've been here for the first time now. I normally go to another coffee shop, Coffee Cups," she explained. "It's just Sokka who wanted to come here, because of some girl." She chuckled.

"Oh," Zuko said. "And I thought it was Jet who..." he trailed off, suddenly a red colour spreading on his cheeks.

"You think Sokka wanted to see Jet?" Katara asked incredulously.

"No! No! I just meant that I thought it was Jet's doing that we met today."

Katara's frown deepened, and her confusion increased. "And why would Jet want us to meet?" She gazed suspiciously at him, but he opened the door to the shop and avoided to answer her question by shoving her into the shop and walking straight to the table where Sokka and Jet said.

Both stared at them, looking surprised. Katara quickly gave Zuko back his coat and sat down. Zuko sat next to her again and they looked both at Jet and Sokka, then at each other and decided to act as if nothing happened. It was slightly embarrassing to both of them, after all.

"What do you want to drink?" Katara asked Zuko, paying no attention to Sokka's slack jaw.

"Green tea," he said, the ghost of a smile visible on his lips.

"I'll get it!" she exclaimed and stood up, going to wait in line.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Sokka gasped. "What did you do to my sister?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Nothing."

"But she's nice to you! She's getting your tea! And wait, is she paying it, too?!" Sokka gestured wildly, looking as if his whole world had turned upside down.

Zuko wondered how becoming older didn't change Sokka one bit.

Jet grinned, leaning back. "See? I told you Katara wasn't that bad."

Zuko looked at him and had to admit that he was right. She wasn't awful. And she tried to be nice. Maybe... Maybe it was worth a try.

/

_The next chapter is almost done, I hope I'll get to update it soon. Please review if you liked this chapter! Reviews are keeping the fanfiction writers going and are to me like money, food and love for a normal author.:) So a big thank you to everyone who already reviewed! :D_


	6. Chapter 5

_Hi everyone! Here is a new chapter! It starts directly where the last one ended. _

_I hope you like it! And if you do, then please review!:D_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Jet obviously could read his thoughts (or more likely his facial expression), because he leaned to Sokka and put on an innocent smile. "Tell me, Sokka, what are you two doing for a living? Are you still living on your family's money?" Jet grinned at Zuko for a moment, who was actually glad that he didn't need to ask himself. It would be good to know how much money Katara earned, if he was going to pay her for pretending to be his girlfriend.

Sokka scoffed and crossed his arms. "Of course not. Besides, we're not richy rich like other people here." He looked pointedly at Zuko, who admittedly didn't do anything for a living. "I'm working in an engineering company as a phone consultant. Fourteen hours a week and so damn well paid!" His eyes almost formed yuan-signs. "I want to get there a job later in the development section. And Katara, she uh..., is looking for a job right now."

Jet pulled a sad face. "Aw, that's bad for her."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why are you asking?" Sokka wanted to know and reached for the menu.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. Hadn't he just eaten like six waffles?

Jet shrugged. "I'm just currently looking for work, since I cannot let Zuko pay for our apartment the whole time."

Sokka gaped at Zuko.

What? Had he thought he wouldn't do this for friends?

"Jet, it's my dad's money. And the apartment is mine. It was a gift. You don't need to pay rent!" he said, probably for the hundredth time. Did Jet even know that Zuko always used this money from Jet to buy food, homewares and sometimes electronic folderol which Jet liked, for example the PS4 or Alexa from Amazon.

Jet rolled his eyes. "Of course I need to. Like you said, the apartment is yours. And I also need money to buy food and all the other stuff we need."

"I'm the one doing all the shopping!" Zuko objected, putting a scowl on his face.

Jet looked thoughtful. "Yeah, you're right. But I still need a job."

This was what confused Zuko even more. Jet did not need a job. He earned money from his apprenticeship. And he got his gigs as DJ. Zuko had no idea why Jet got those. In his opinion this music was awful and it did make him want to dance less than any other music. This was not just about Jet's music, just about techno and house in general. Zuko preferred the old rock or pop music. He liked to hear the instruments, to be able to distinguish them, and not just some sounds which form an awful melody with even more awful and uncreative lyrics.

But Jet made this face which showed Zuko that something had just happened that he hadn't understood at all. For his lack of understanding subtle tones in voices or hints in talks or expressions in faces, Jet had very often made fun of him. And developed certain very clear facial expressions, which showed Zuko if and what he had just missed. It had been life saving at the academy. Or at least saving his unit from extra rounds or himself from cleaning duty.

Zuko shrugged. "If you think so."

Jet gave him a pleased look and Zuko tried to hide his confusion.

"But Zuko, does that mean your dad is paying for everything you have?" Sokka asked with fully perceptible disgust in his voice.

This was just the moment when Katara came back with his tea and sat next to him. Great, now she would probably start to contempt him again, because he didn't have a job. He was not embarrassed at not having a job, since pleasing his father was already a full time job. Not that these people here would understand it. Not even Jet understood it. But his family took care of him and since they had a lot of money, he didn't see any problem with this. He would earn his own money later, after all. And he had had a job in high school at his uncle's tea shop. So he knew how work could be like.

"Yes," he said, hoping he didn't sound arrogant. He put the small sieve with the tea leaves into his mug.

"That's how Kasaishi is controlling him. If he behaves, he still gets money. He wouldn't even be able to get a job, because Kasaishi would just make sure he would get fired in a matter of days," Jet added, drawling.

Zuko looked at him, his expression saying "What the f**k?"

"Really?" Katara asked, sounding compassionate.

Zuko's head whipped around, staring at her frowning face.

But however great it was that Katara was showing compassion to him, he still needed to save some of his dignity. "It's not like I wouldn't behave if he wouldn't give me money. He's just providing for his children. For Azula, too. Besides, when my father was young they had very little money and he and his brother needed to work, too, since high school. I think dad just doesn't want Azula and me to have to do this, too. What's more, I'm already doing little things for the company, even if I'm not officially appointed. And not getting money for this would be unfair," he stated and almost sniffed.

Jet grinned. "Wow, I'm really a good influence on you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, feeling irritated.

"You just reached your maximum of words to say in one day in high school. Now you said it at once, within a minute!" Jet took a spoon and pretended it to be a microphone. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce to you Kasaishi Zuko, the chatterbox!"

Katara chuckled and Sokka snorted, but had an amused expression on his face.

"Ha ha," Zuko said deadpan. "Very funny."

"And there he goes again, four more words!"

"I don't think 'ha' is actually a word," Katara interjected.

Sokka grinned. "It is, if it annoys Zuko."

Zuko glared at him, imagining to burn Sokka's stupid grin off his face.

"Sokka, stop it," Katara scolded her brother. "We agreed on peace, there is no need to get on his nerves anymore."

Sokka grimaced. "I never agreed on peace, besides, getting on someone's nerves is one of my favourite activities, so it doesn't actually have to do with the fact that I still don't like him."

Zuko wasn't hurt by this at all. He couldn't care less about what Sokka thought of him, but if he needed Katara to agree to become his girlfriend, then maybe he should try to get on Sokka's good side.

"What was it I did to you?" he asked and couldn't hide his annoyance.

"Being an roogant jerk like the whole time!" Sokka exclaimed. "In any class, everywhere! Whenever I said something in class you objected it, even if you actually thought the same! You said everything I said again, only in different and more academic words! You always wanted to be better, for no reason! And whenever I tried to talk to you you seemed so bored, as if I was wasting the precious little prince's time. And then Katara started not liking you, too, because you insulted her and nobody insults my sister but me!"

Zuko felt really taken aback by this rant. He hadn't expected Sokka to fall in a rant at all and he also hadn 't expected him to say what he said.

"Uh... Sorry? I didn't mean to do that. And for the record, it was Katara doing the insulting," he explained and took a sip of his tea.

Sokka raised an eyebrow at his sister. "You said he had behaved like a jerk! And that he had been mean to you!"

"Well, yeah, but I also did insult him and apart from showing me his middle finger I'm pretty sure Zuko didn't insult me," Katara said, blushing in embarrassment.

"That's because I didn't want to really be a jerk. I already made a twelve year old cry, I didn't want to insult a girl, too," he said.

"That's just sexist," Katara snarled. "You can insult boys, but no girls?"

Zuko frowned at her. "Am I getting this right, you want me to insult you?"

She shook her head. "No, but you shouldn't make a difference."

Why shouldn't he? It's not like cuss words for females were okay by moral standards. Bad words for men were way simpler in his opinion.

"Okay," he relented.

Sokka stared at him, his mouth twisted and his chin between index finger and thumb.

"What? I know I was an idiot in high school, okay? Every teenager is an idiot sometimes," Zuko started his last defence.

Sokka nodded. "You're right there. I'm glad you finally say it openly that you agree to what I said."

Zuko answered with a nod and drank from his tea again, glancing at Katara, because he wanted to know how she perceived all of this.

She still looked calm and friendly and he hoped he could keep it that way from now on. Although he feared her wrath would come upon him the moment he would ask her what he needed to ask her.

They sat together for the next half an hour and talked about what they had done after high school. Zuko was particularly impressed by Katara's social year, although he frowned, when he heard that it had been Aang's idea. Katara talked a lot about Aang in general and it seemed that he had been a big part of her life after high school, but Zuko didn't want to ask her if they were a couple or not. But Jet understood Zuko's raised eyebrows and just asked whether or not they were a couple. Zuko didn't manage to hide his pleased smile well, when Katara told them that she had broken up with Aang a couple of weeks ago. Jet kicked Zuko under the table to make him grimace. He almost hissed at Jet, but could still restrain himself. Jet did a lot of the talking, which seemed to bother Sokka pretty much.

Although Zuko had apologised to him, Sokka still didn't like him, and definitely not Jet. Jet had always been too smarmy for him and he felt like everything people got from Jet was fake. Sokka's mood only got worse when the girls in the sports gear left and the one with the short auburn hair didn't even look at him.

Jet did his best to drive Sokka away and tried to be everything that Sokka hated about him.

Katara and Zuko were mostly rather quiet, both thinking about the person sitting next to them. Zuko couldn't wait to get a moment alone with her, in which he could explain his situation to her and ask her, if she'd be interested in helping him.

A few minutes later Sokka finally left. Katara felt like she needed to go now, too, but part of her actually had fun listening to Jet's exaggerated stories and Zuko's incomprehensible grumbling responses. Sokka didn't expect Katara to come with him. She was an adult, after all. She lived with her ex-boyfriend and they would see each other the next day for lunch at their parents' house anyway, so there was no need to play overprotective brother. Besides, he knew Katara could handle herself and even if Jet would still want something from her, Sokka knew that Katara would never want to be with him again. And Zuko? He was probably as much of a threat to Katara as a butterfly. He seemed to be a rather serious and taciturn person, who would not flirt with a girl who had hated him in high school. So feeling assured that he wasn't needed Sokka left, hoping Katara would do something to make Jet choke or trip or slip, something that would shut him up.

Zuko was really surprised that Sokka left just like that. He had thought he would insist on Katara coming with him, but he didn't even mention it. Katara seemed to want to go with him, but she remained seated. Zuko wondered why that was and he looked at her, how she took a few sips from her tea and listened to Jet. What if... What if Katara still wanted Jet? What if _she _had still feelings for him? He couldn't ask her to pretend to be his girlfriend if that was the case, could he?

Jet yawned and stretched his arms in the air. "Oh, wow, look how late it got. I guess I'm calling it a day. Hope to see you soon, Katara. See you tomorrow, Zuko." With a few bills tucked under his saucer he stood, grabbed his coat and left, putting his coat on.

Zuko had noticed the pleased grin in Jet's eyes, though. His friend had given him an opportunity. He had to use it!

His heart pounded faster and his hands sweated. If he messed that up he would disappoint his father and he could never do that again. He basically didn't think about what happened nine years ago, often suppressing those feelings or thinking that he was different now, and his father, too, so that it would not ever happen again. But deep down he wasn't sure of that. That's why he felt this deep and dark fear behind his nervousness.

"Sooo... uh...," he rubbed his neck. "What do you have planned for tonight?"

Katara shot him a strange look, but replaced it with a thoughtful one. She shrugged. "I guess I'll go back to packing. I'm moving out tomorrow, and I still haven't prepared everything."

"Do you... have to leave right now?" he asked, sounding a bit self-consciously.

"I guess not." Katara looked curiously at him, playing with the necklace around her neck.

Zuko remembered how he had kept it once, just to annoy her for making Haru hate him, too. He had liked Haru, although he had never talked to him, but then Haru had become friends with Katara. And then there had been another person shooting him glares everywhere he went and bumping into his shoulder on purpose.

"I'm sorry, by the way. For, uh... not returning your necklace that one time," he said.

Katara gave him a surprised look and then glared at him. "I knew it was you! Why the hell did you steal my necklace?"

Zuko frowned. "You really can't take a guess? I had a lot of reasons the way you behaved. Besides, you started stealing my stuff!"

Katara laughed dryly. "I only stole your lunch! You had enough money to eat in the cafeteria! This necklace is something personal!"

"I didn't steal it! I found it on the floor of the gym and... well, kept it for a few weeks, because... Well, to annoy you. And I did return it!"

"Wow! What a great feat, thank you so much!" she said sarcastically.

"What's your problem now?" Zuko snapped, getting annoyed pretty quickly. This had happened years ago and in his opinion Katara had been way meaner to him than he to her.

She shook her head. "Never mind. Anyway, I should go. Cartons are waiting for me," she said curtly and Zuko just knew he had screwed this up. Again.

He tried to calm his temper, because he didn't want to shout out loud in this coffee shop. "Please tell me what has made you so angry now."

Katara's eyes narrowed for a moment, while she glared at him, but for some reason her face softened a moment later. "I never wanted to move to Ba Sing Se," She admitted a moment later, her voice quieter and thoughtful. "I hated it there. Even with getting friends it was still totally putting me off. So when we visited our home during the holidays my mother had this necklace made for me. She said that this way a part of the south would always be with me. When I thought it was lost I felt like my connection to my home was gone," she told him, her voice a little bit accusatory. "I know you didn't know what the necklace meant to me. And it happened years ago. You were an idiot and I... wasn't exactly the nicest person either." She sighed. "I accept your apology." Suddenly she looked up at him and smiled brightly. Zuko was close to being shocked how her mood changed so quickly again. "It's really nice of you to apologise. And to admit that it was you who took it. So, thanks, I guess. For finding and keeping it. You could've just kept it or thrown it away..."

Frowning Zuko shook his head. "I would never do that. This would be just as bad as stealing. The necklace belongs to you and I respected that. I had always planned on returning it."

She chuckled a bit. "It's kind of embarrassing now, actually. The way we behaved. It's like we were kindergarten children!"

Zuko smiled. "Yes, a bit."

"So... do you wanna sit here all night or are we going somewhere else?" Katara asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Somewhere else," he said, deciding that he could maybe be on the safer side if Katara would have a few drinks.

But luck was never on his side and it didn't change now. Just because he had found a girl who matched his father's wishes didn't mean it would be easy to convince her to do that.

Katara wanted to get dinner, not drinks. He was fine with that, too, since he really was hungry.

They just had to walk to the other side of the square, where there was a restaurant with local food. Katara complained a bit about the food, though, saying it was too spicy and too many things were fried. He just raised an eyebrow and told her she could just ask for the food not to be spicy or fried. She blushed and looked at the ground, telling him that this normally upset or annoyed the waiters, which she didn't like.

Rolling his eyes he took off his coat and sat down in front of her, this time. "So what? Why does their opinion bother you?"

Katara bit on her lower lip. "It's just... You know I'm not looking the way people do here. People always see where I come from and I just feel as if they would think less of me. You know, 'a girl from the south wanting to explore the big city and then she doesn't even appreciate the food!'", she said in an annoyed manner.

Zuko tried hard not to chuckle, since she faked a tired, exhausted and annoyed waiter who only wanted his or her shift to end rather well.

He shook his head. "It is still not important what they think. You don't like hot spices or crunchy food. That's all to that."

She frowned in confusion. "I never said I didn't like it. I just think there's too much of it."

He twisted his mouth and nodded finally in agreement. "You're probably right. But it's super popular, so you basically don't get anything else here, except for sweets, desserts and sushi."

"Well, the sushi from the capital is still not the same than this from the south. You can order sushi with fried fish here! With fried spicy fish!"

Zuko chuckled this time for real. It was funny that she got upset over something like that, when she had only got like this, whenever he had annoyed her back in high school. "I love that sushi. It's not so plain."

"Of course you would," Katara murmured and reached for the menu. "Oh gods, where did you bring me? They have chili signs next to every meal!" she exclaimed in horror.

Zuko was pretty sure that wasn't true, but she was right. There was only one meal with no chili next to it. Fried Maniok with fried chicken. That sounded actually quite good. But he would want his food to be spicy.

"So, you don't find anything?" Zuko asked in a concerned way.

Katara looked up at him, probably hearing the concern in his voice, too, and being surprised. "No, no it's okay. I guess I just miss food from the south. I don't mind this here. It reminds me of the voluntary year in Ethiopia. They eat a lot of maniok and chicken, too, although it wasn't fried," she told him, "but they sure loved spicy food, too. Aang and I were lucky to be with a group of mostly foreigners, so the food was kept rather mild."

"Was this the only time you've been outside of Elementia?" he asked, while his eyes settled on a spicy noodlesoop with vegetables, egg and beef.

"Yes, it was," she answered and looked at him curiously. "What about you? Have you ever been outside of Elementia?"

He nodded. "Yes. My father has friends in France and when I was little we spent the summers at the French Riviera. And when I lived in Ba Sing Se my uncle dragged me every holiday to some other far away place on Earth. I've been to many big cities and a few nature reservoirs."

"How was it?"

He shrugged. "Okay, I guess. It was interesting to see something else and be in a different country, but all the time I just wished I could be here."

She frowned. "Really? You had the luck to be out there and you couldn't appreciate it?"

He glowered at her. "You just said you miss being in the south! What's so wrong with wanting to be home?"

She kept his gaze, then she sighed and looked away. "Nothing. You're right, I'm sorry. Home is important and I understand why you want to be there. Although I don't understand why you want to be _here_. You probably also don't understand why I would want to be in a place where there is only one place in the village, where you can actually access the internet."

Zuko stared at her, mortified. "Seriously?!"

She grinned slightly. "Yeah. Most people just don't care about this there. Only the younger ones go to the internet café. Not every household has a landline. You'd think I'm used to all this noise and technology around me by now, wouldn't you?"

He shook his head. No. There were some things no one could ever get used to. "But why are you here then, if you'd rather be in the south?"

"I wanted to go back after high school. I thought my mother and grandmother would... Uh, wait. So, my dad is in the army and that's why we first left the south. It's also why I'm here now, instead of in the south. My mum rather wanted to move with him, and not return home, and my grandma and Sokka agreed. And I didn't want to go back on my own. I miss the south, but I don't think I could ever stand being separated from my family."

Zuko blinked, feeling bewildered at her openness and at what she had just freely shared with him. "I understand that," he said, his voice raspy. "When I was in Ba Sing Se, I only wanted to come back here. I missed my family so much, I would have gone everywhere, if they would have just been with me," he confessed, but didn't feel uncomfortable at all. This was strange, that of all people he felt relaxed with it had to be Katara. He mostly felt wary, when people asked him personal things and he never knew how to respond to them. In high school he had just snarled that it was none of their business. But he later understood that he couldn't treat people like that all the time. He hated lying, but it wasn't always so easy to be open. First of all, he had to pay attention to what he was saying. He couldn't just tell anyone his life story, and second, he felt uncomfortable with a lot of attention focused on him.

But it was just the two of them, so having all of Katara's attention was probably normal.

"Why didn't you just go back then? Was your uncle holding you prisoner or something?" she asked, a grin in her voice and one eyebrow raised, her face amused.

He paled immediately, knowing he had said too much. That happened when he became too comfortable. "Well, uh, no. I didn't hate Ba Sing Se...," lie, "and Azula was also there, soooo I just, erm, missed my parents. That's all. I probably exaggerated a bit," he quickly said, rubbing his back and trying to force his embarrassment away.

Shortly after that their waiter appeared next to them and asked for their orders. Zuko had decided on the noodle soup and Katara took the fried maniok although she did ask if her chicken could be simply fried in a pan, instead of being deep fried. Zuko saw for himself that she was right. The waiter wrinkled his nose, raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and noting everything down. With a short nod he walked away. Zuko grimaced and hoped that this was an exception. Surely not everyone in the capital treated her like this. He chose to ask her.

"What? No! It's just because of my extra wishes and if I'd behave correctly they also would be friendlier, like they are to anyone else. In general the people here have always been really nice. They are curious about the south and compliment me a lot on my darker skin, since I also look tanned in winter." She chuckled. "It's funny that we have very little sun in the south, but our skin is still darker than yours and this here is basically the tropics. Anyway, I think I like the capital way better than Ba Sing Se. It's smaller. It's still a big city, but there is an end to it which feels not too far away. In Ba Sing Se I always had the impression as if the whole world was just a city. But here I'd say it's perfectly sized. Though I still don't understand why someone builds a city at the foot of a volcano."

"Fruitful ground. Hardened lava is way more fruitful than any other soil. Besides, I think this place is great. There is the huge mountain at our back, the valley in front is us, and all the way out there is the lake." The lake was very broad and even longer and in the middle of Elementia it seperated the west from the east.

Katara relented. "Okay, fine. But what if it explodes?"

"It's been inactive for the last thousand years. Besides, there are people checking on the volcano several times a month, so I think we would have enough time to evacuate the whole area, if it ever comes to an eruption," he explained, sounding a bit offended.

Katara just raised an eyebrow, not liking this sniff, since it made him look arrogant again. And she wanted to stop thinking about him that way. "Uhuh," she murmured, looking around if their food was already coming.

Zuko felt again as if he had said something wrong and became a bit angry. How was it that she could make him feel like this all the time? He felt guilty for something he didn't even know! Why was she always reacting to him like that? This fake relationship (if she agreed to it) would surely still be horrible, even if he had decided not to hate her anymore. He thought he could stand her, but he would definitely yell a lot at her if she kept being like this. His temper would just snap. He could already see how he yelled at her later for being such an annoying person. So he gritted his teeth and tried to ask her nicely what her problem was, instead of keeping all his emotions locked, and yelling later at her.

"What? I was just telling you some facts," he defended himself, trying to sound nice and friendly.

Katara twisted her mouth and sighed. "Alright. Well, okay, you did, but the way you said that just sounded way too arrogant."

Zuko frowned. "I didn't intend to!"

She shrugged. "Okay, then maybe you didn't, but you made me feel as if I was stupid for even considering an eruption."

He shook his head. "I clearly didn't want to do that. I just wanted to calm you and reassure you that people won't die here because of an explosion."

"Oh," she said, looking surprised. She wanted to apologise, but their food was being served by a friendlier waitress, who smiled.

At least Zuko thought she was friendlier. Katara thought she was trying to flirt with Zuko. Did she maybe recognise him? Did women want Zuko because of who he was? If the revolution hadn't happened then Zuko would be... a prince, Katara noticed, feeling the urge to laugh hysterically.

After the waitress was gone, she started eating and thought that it was actually really good. There were vegetables served with her maniok, which she really liked.

"Does it taste good?" Zuko asked, looking worried.

Katara's eyes widened and she quickly nodded. "Yes, of course! Don't get me wrong. The food here always tastes good. I'm just not used to spices and deep fried food."

Zuko nodded and took a few noodles between his chopsticks, putting them into his mouth.

They ate mostly in silence, dwelling on their own thoughts. Katara observed the other people in the restaurant, the friends and couples and families. It still hurt a bit that she broke up with Aang, but mostly, because she caused him pain, not because she still wanted to be with him. Her gaze fell on Zuko who concentrated mostly on his food and glanced around sometimes. Was he observing the people, too? Did he feel jealous of the couples, too? Or did he have a girlfriend? She quickly shook her head, not allowing herself to ponder about such things.

Instead she tried to focus on this "new" Zuko, or the Zuko she had never seen. How could she have been so wrong about him? Or why hadn't they tried to get past their difficulties earlier? She had seen him several times a week after school, while she had been together with Jet, but she had never even tried to like him. Sometimes he had provoked her, though, but mostly he had been civil and friendly around her. Now that was the only thing she saw. A friendly, nice and polite Zuko. Someone who lent her his coat, someone who apologised and wanted her to feel safe from volcano eruptions.

Zuko, meanwhile, was thinking along similar lines. It still surprised him that Katara and he had managed for over an hour now not to argue and yell at each other. He didn't even feel the urge to provoke her anymore. He thought it would be quite okay to have her as his fake girlfriend, if she kept behaving like this. But should he speak to her about that now or later? Maybe after dinner? Or should he ask her if she wanted to meet with him again and then ask her about his situation? He would do anything to make her agree to become his fake girlfriend. He knew no one else and he didn't want to imagine what his father would do, if he disappointed him. Failure was not an option.

He looked up from his soup and saw that Katara was watching him. He raised an eyebrow and she smiled at him, which surprised him.

Katara smiling at him was really strange. He straightened himself and stared at her, feeling a bit curious.

Katara's smile grew wider, her eyes larger and her eyebrows lifted at the same time. Now Zuko felt confused. But then Katara giggled and shook her head, drinking some water.

"Oh my gods, Zuko, are you anotomically not capable of smiling?" she giggled.

He frowned at her. "Of course I can smile."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because I just smiled at you and you stared, as if you saw a ghost. Usually, people smile back, when they are smiled at."

He stirred his soup with his chopsticks. "Well, I haven't exactly seen you smile at me before, so this is still strange. Besides, your smile went creepy later."

"I wanted to make you laugh! Or smile at least!" she complained.

He twisted his mouth, and Katara sighed. "What does it take to make you smile?"

His frown deepened. "I think..."

But her question had apparently been rhetorical, since she kept talking. "Do I have to make you compliments? Or do you smile when you see puppies and babies? I always smile when I see them, they are just so cute!"

Without noticing he lifted one corner of his mouth, not because if the puppies and babies, but because of how Katara behaved. She sounded as if she was babbling, but somehow… he liked that.

Suddenly she pointed a finger at him. "Ha!"

He leaned back, feeling bewildered. "What?!

"You just smiled!"

"No, I didn't!"

"You did, too!"

"No, I did not smile!"

"Your left mouth corner lifted. It's called a lopsided smile," she told him, feeling very pleased with herself, as she smirked and put a piece of manioc in her mouth.

Zuko considered arguing, but he sighed and let it be. Maybe it was a good thing that he had smiled, even if it had only been lopsided.

* * *

_Oh my god, I just figured out how to make this horizontal line appear! I've seen it in a lot of other fan fictions, but never knew how to do it. I don't have time now, since I have to get up early tomorrow, but when I have the time I'll update every chapter of every story and will replace '/' with the line. _

_I have also just noticed that I made a huge mistake with editing the chapters. I always saved the changes and thought that'll be it, but I didn't get that those changes weren't shown in the story if I didn't replace the old document with the edited one. So I did just that and now you can read answers to the reviews, which have been part of the document, but I was just too dumb to... Arrgghhhh! This is embarrassing and I'm frustrated with myself. Anyway..._

_For _Love of Fire and Water _readers: I'm sorry to make you wait so long, but this chapter takes longer than I thought, it's really difficutlt to write. __  
_

_Answers to reviews:_

IDidn'tSignUp4This: _Wow, thanks! That is really nice of you! I actually didn't even think of arranged marriage when I had this idea... But you're right, Ozai is kind of doing that to his son.  
_

uchihaNaruto247: _Thank you! It's not really easy to write about their interaction, since they are not exactly the same people as in the series. Their life was different, so they are different, too. It is great to know that you're still reading this and that I didn't drive you away with my reply to your last review. A friend of mine read what I wrote and told me I sounded mean, which was totally not my intention! I really hope you didn't preceive it that way. And if you did, I'm really sorry then!_


	7. Chapter 6

_I'm so so sorry about the wait! I had a lot of things to do and a lot happened and... *sigh*, anyway, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep updating weekly, but I hope you'll still read it anyway. And now, I hope you'll like the next chapter!_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Zuko decided not to ask Katara tonight. This was so easy and nice, and he didn't want to mess up, just because he was impatient to know if she would do it.

When they were asked if they wanted a dessert, both shook their heads. Zuko thought that dessert was too much like a date situation, when he asked just to get the bill, please.

It had become even colder outside and Zuko could see his breath in the air. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, when Katara left the restaurant behind him.

There were still people outside, laughing and talking too loudly. The semester was close to its end and some people had already written all their exams, so they naturally wanted to party now. Zuko still had two exams to write, until he could relax.

Katara wore a blue parka and a light grey wool scarf. She put her hands in her pockets and Zuko swallowed, since he knew he had to do now a very difficult thing. He had to ask a girl for her phone number without sounding as if he wanted something from her.

How was he going to do that?

"So... Thank you for the evening, Zuko. It was really nice. I would never have thought that I would enjoy dinner with you like that," she said shyly.

Zuko thought that this was definitely something positive and smiled. "Yeah, likewise."

She smiled back at him, and when he didn't say anything, she nodded. "Okay, then, I have to go this way."

Zuko inwardly grinned. It was good he had chosen a different parking lot today. "Yeah, me, too."

They started walking next to each other, away from campus and the university.

The street lamps in the capital glowed in a soft orange and always reminded Katara of the bonfires in the south. She loved the capital at night, since it seemed so warm and friendly.

Zuko knew he only had two blocks to walk, and that the underground station, which Katara probably headed to, was only one block away.

He searched for a way to ask for her phone number, but Katara started asking him about his studies, which distracted him.

He blinked, feeling surprised, when she told him that she had had the same professors as him one year ago. Both couldn't stand professor Longfeng at all, and Katara complained about how unfair he was.

"I'm actually a bit afraid of his exam," Zuko admitted.

Katara grimaced. "Yeah, you should be. But don't worry too much, it doesn't matter how much you study, you won't be able to answer all questions in the given time. Apparently, Longfeng does that with all freshmen."

"Oh," Zuko said, not really knowing what he should respond. He just didn't found Longfeng to be a nice person, but since he was highly used to unfair treatment, he didn't even think badly about it.

"If you want to, I could give you my notes from last year. It'll be easier for you this way," Katara offered.

"Oh, uh, thanks, but this would give me an uh, unfair advantage, and... and I already wrote a summary, so I don't know if I'd even need yours," Zuko stumbled, trying to be polite, but also showing her that he was an honest person. It wasn't quite cheating, but like he said, it would give him an unfair advantage.

Katara raised one eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Zuko nodded, starting to panic slightly, since he saw the underground station entrance already ahead of him. What to do? What to do? His head jerked towards Katara, when an idea suddenly popped into his head. "Uhm, well... are you sure you want to give them to me?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

She nodded. "Yes, of course."

He exhaled deeply. "Then let's meet in this coffee shop again. I don't have time at the weekend, but are you free on Monday?"

"Erm... yes, probably. But only until six pm."

He inhaled, feeling relieved that she was okay with meeting him again. "Okay, then at four maybe?"

Katara twisted her mouth. "Well... Could we maybe meet somewhere else? Do you know Coffee Cups?"

"No. Where is that?"

"Not far. You can find it on google maps."

He nodded. "Alright."

Katara smiled, since she liked it how he didn't argue and said that he liked the tea in the other coffee shop too much to go somewhere else or something like that. Like Sokka would do, or Aang…

"Why don't you have time at the weekend?" she asked.

Zuko's facial expression turned grimmer, since he didn't like to think about that too much. "Tomorrow I'll go hiking. Sunday is family day. I have to meet with my sister and my parents at the volcano club."

Katara's lip twitched, and Zuko knew immediately that Katara knew what the volcano club was. "Are you going to wear a polo shirt for that?" she teased. "Or cargo pants? Maybe you'll wear a sweater over your shoulders and you'll knot the sleeves together! Do you play golf?"

Zuko put all his force into this scowl, but she just giggled at him.

"I play tennis," he murmured.

Katara's giggles became louder. "It's funny that those rich people clichés from TV are actually true."

Zuko rolled his eyes and looked down the stairs to the underground station, deciding to accompany Katara to the tracks. It wasn't that late, but it was already dark, and he didn't like the thought of Katara waiting alone at the tracks.

She looked at him in a surprised way. "Aren't you going to take a taxi? Or don't you have a chauffeur?" she still teased him.

He huffed. "I have a car, and I drive myself."

"But you didn't come here today by car?"

"No, I did."

"Then why are you following me to an underground station?"

He rolled his eyes again. "I'm not following you, I'm accompanying you. To make sure that no dishonourable creeps will bother you."

Katara could not stop her shocked look.

"What?" Zuko snapped.

"Wow. I guess you're a bit of the old school. Never would have guessed that," she answered, but nodded approvingly. "My dad would like you."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, wondering why she had thought of this, since it shouldn't be really important from her point of view if her dad liked him. It would be for him later, of course, but why did she think about that? He found it very endearing how she suddenly turned ten shades of red.

"I-I... I mean, it's just that while Aang was sweet and all, he wouldn't have done that, if I hadn't asked. He never thought that there could be dishonourable creeps anywhere. I'm not comparing you two or anything like that and I just meant... Urgh, you... It was the military academy, wasn't it?" she murmured, glaring at him.

He found that very amusing. "Oh yeah, you're right. After survival training and before battle strategies we had 'wooing ladies' and actually had to practise with the other students how to accompany girls to underground stations," he said sarcastically, but in an amused tone.

Katara blushed deeply. "I did not mean that. Just that you learn old school stuff in general there."

"Well, I like to call it manners," he replied stiffly, but cringed almost immediately after having said that, since he expected her to tell him he had sounded arrogant again..

But Katara did no such thing.

He shot her a sideway glance, and saw that she beamed. "Okay, now it is official. I don't just don't hate you, I like you."

Zuko felt heat crawl into his cheeks. She really did? "Uh, thanks. That's nice."

She raised an eyebrow, looking sceptical.

"I-I mean, yeah, you are also not that bad as I always thought. I mean, I like you, too. You, uh, are funny."

She giggled again. "It's okay, Zuko."

The train arrived, the noise so loud that they didn't say anything else, since they knew that the other one wouldn't hear it.

They both looked at the train, and then Katara mounted, and waved at Zuko, smiling.

He smiled back and raised his hand shortly before putting it back in his pocket. When the train left he could see how Katara walked around the people to find a seat.

Sighing he turned around, walking back up to the street.

So... The big showdown would be on Monday. Hopefully, his father wouldn't ask him on Sunday about his progress, since he didn't like to call this a progress, before Katara hadn't agreed on pretending to be his girlfriend.

oOo

"Zuko!" Ursa exclaimed, standing up and quickly walking over to greet her son. She had only got to see him every week since last July, and she still had a lot of time and feelings of guilt to amend. Every time she hugged him she made sure to hug him as tight as possible and so long as if she wouldn't see him for eight years again.

Zuko always closed his eyes and tried to memorise her hugs and scent as good as possible, as if he wouldn't see her for eight years again. Although he was twenty-one years old, he always felt like a little boy in her arms, and a lump kept forming in his throat, while he had to fight the memories at Uncle's house, when he had screamed for his mother.

But when mother and son let go of each other, they always smiled, as if everything was great and normal. As if Ozai hadn't forced them apart and had made their lives ten times more miserable.

Zuko ignored the fact that a little sweat broke on his forehead, when Ozai hugged him. It was not a stiff or unfamilial hug, but he never felt at ease with Ozai so close to him.

He swallowed and forced the smile back on his face, as he took off his coat. He sat down at his usual chair. Ursa and Ozai were sitting on the bench, while the chairs were for him and Azula. The chairs, sofas and benches were all bolstered with red velvet with golden dragon patterns. The room was light and the walls made mostly of sandstone, which was painted in a light red colour, only here and there could one find marble. In every corner and next to every table were palm trees planted in buckets and flowers decorated the whole room. The smell of spices and fried food hung deeply in the air, mixed with flowers and smoke. Zuko inhaled deeply and found that he loved that smell, while he tried not to pay attention to the other people's chatter.

The volcano club was the most and best known country club of the western province. Only the richest people could even afford to eat here. Zuko had already been here, when he had been a child. Being back felt familiar, although he sometimes found the prices of the meals way too high. After living with his uncle and working at the tea shop he knew a bit better how to cherish his family's wealth. He mostly spent his money on gifts for friends or his family.

The volcano club had more than just one restaurant. There were diners, ice cream shops and hotels, too. Lots of surface served for golf players or other sport courts, such as tennis, badminton, football, and rugby. Clubs for martial arts existed here, and Zuko visited different Kung Fu classes for advanced learners. His father wanted him to be the best, since all his family members and his ancestors had always been good fighters. Ozai wanted Zuko to also take lessons in a martial art with a weapon, and Zuko had chosen the dual dao swords. They were not considered as honourable by his family as the normal longswords they fought with, but Zuko felt more connected to them. He was a fast learner and surprised his teacher with his progress.

Azula had learned how to wield a sword since she was fourteen and had also taken Kung Fu lessons.

Since Zuko hadn't been here for almost nine years he had missed a lot of things his father had wanted him to learn. Now, Zuko had to make up for this lost time. Because of that he was always very busy and a common acquaintance in the club. Azula now mostly cared about the horses which were to be found in the stables on the club's grounds, just as lakes and pools. The members used the lakes mostly to sail or even to angle.

In the evenings there were concerts or other entertainment going on, and sometimes there were even sports competitions held.

Ursa immediately put her hands over Zuko's and squeezed it. "How have you been?" she asked him, smiling lovingly.

Zuko relaxed, and his smile became genuine. "Rather fine. I had two exams last week, and I think they went well."

Ursa's smile widened. "I would never doubt that."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "You surely want to do better than 'well', don't you, Zuko?"

"Of course, father. I have done everything to get the best grade, and I studied for weeks to be prepared for every possible question. I'm positive to be one of the best, but I don't want to be too sure. No one knows what the professors really want in the end," he said, trying to show his father that he put effort into his studies, but he didn't want his father to expect only A+s, when it could be that all his effort only led to A-s or B+s.

Ozai looked more satisfied and nodded.

Ursa sighed. "Oh yes. Some professors are really unfair and only ask way too difficult questions or give the students too little time to answer."

"It's okay, mum." Zuko didn't want pity.

He turned his head to the left, when he saw his sister walking towards them. She looked self-confident, but walked fast, since she was too late. A waiter stepped to the side to let her pass, and she glared shortly at him.

Azula wore a tight red coat with a belt, black suit trousers and high heeled boots. Her hair was up in her usual knot.

Zuko smiled, when he saw her, and was a bit relieved not to be the centre of attention anymore.

"Hello dear family, I'm so sorry! I had some idiots in front of me on my way here. Colour blind idiots, because they stopped when the light turned yellow. There is still enough time to drive over the crossroads, but noooo... Urgh!"

Ozai smiled thinly, while Azula was hugging Ursa. "I told you that you can have a chauffeur if you want to. Then you won't have to put up with idiots like that anymore."

Azula returned his thin smile when she gave him a hug. "But then I would have to put up with an idiot chauffeur."

"This way you know you can always fire him if he does something which displeases you. You don't get the same satisfaction from anonymous drivers," Ozai explained, while Ursa's face went pale.

Zuko tried not to think about how cruel that sounded to him.

Azula rolled her eyes. "Dad, you know I don't want a chauffeur. I don't like to be dependent."

Ozai's smile suddenly became genuine. "Of course, Azula. No one will ever think you do."

Azula turned towards Zuko, and he engulfed her in a hug. Her perfume didn't smell sweet, it never had, it always reminded him of a lemon, but he liked it.

Azula sat down next to him, and took over the conversation from this point on. Zuko knew she was going to do that and he was grateful that she did.

A waitress came to their table and asked for their order. Zuko chose the speciality of the house: volcano noodles. They were orange noodles with tomato's, carrots, pepper and beef, all very spicy. He had to think about Katara, and how she hadn't seemed to like spicy meals that much. If she was going to be his fake girlfriend, he had to find some restaurants, where they would serve also a lot of nonspicy food.

Azula chose sushi, as usual, while Ursa went for steamed fish and Ozai for fire dumplings.

Their conversation focused mainly on what Azula had done last week, and then changed to the company, as always.

Ozai talked about his future plans for the company, since he wouldn't be able to keep functioning completely as its head when he would become president.

Zuko frowned at how he heard his father talk about it. It wasn't clear yet at all. The other candidates were quite strong, too, and had a lot of supporters. It was possible that Ozai wouldn't win the election, but that would be unlike Ozai. He always got what he wanted.

Zuko was happy that he was able to keep quiet the whole time and only eat his food. But he also knew that this wouldn't last long. He was also always on high alert, listening to everything, as if he were on enemy's territory. A reaction of his body he never understood.

Later, after their dessert, Ozai asked Zuko to talk to him alone. Ursa widened her eyes and smiled broadly, taking Ozai's hand. "Well, why, honey? You can always discuss things in front of wife and daughter, you know that!"

Azula smiled, too. "Well, yes, mother is quite right."

Ozai smiled thinly. "As much as both of you are right, I'm afraid this is something between men only."

Azula rolled her eyes. "As long as it isn't something sexist."

Ozai narrowed his eyes and Zuko laughed weakly. "Yeah, as if dad would even think something like that."

He got up and followed his father out of the room. He'd actually thought they would only sit down at another table, not go to a completely different room.

It was a private dining room, next to a window with a table set for six people and a record-player standing on a wooden dresser. The walls were painted in a deep crimson red and the curtains next to the window were golden, as well as the tablecloth and the napkins, while all the furniture was made of a dark wood which almost seemed black.

Zuko frowned when he noticed the colours. Was this room a private room for his father? Either that or the owner of the volcano club wanted to show his support for Ozai during the campaign. Gold, red, and black were the colours of the old flag of the western province and of Elementia. The flag of the Kasai Emperors.

Ozai motioned for his son to sit down. A waiter arrived just then and asked if they wanted to have something to drink. Ozai took a glass of whiskey, while Zuko went for coffee. He never drank tea in front of his father.

Swallowing down something which was not fear, Zuko turned to his father and waited for him to begin talking. He thought he knew what Ozai wanted to talk to him about anyway.

And he was actually right, for once in his life.

"So Zuko, tell me, did you make any progress in finding you a girlfriend?" Ozai asked, laying his hands on the table and leaning a bit forward.

"Uhm, yeah. I found someone." He looked onto the table plate for a moment, before looking back up at his father.

Quiet voices were heard from outside as well as the clatter of dishes.

Ozai's eyes narrowed. "That's all?"

"No, father," he said quickly. "We were out for dinner, and I'm going to see her again on Monday."

Ozai rose his eyebrows and leaned back a bit. "Hm. Good. But does she fit the description I gave you?"

"Yes, of course." Zuko nodded, looking to the side. "It wasn't easy to find her. There aren't many southerners living here after all."

"So she's a southerner?" Ozai wanted to know.

Zuko nodded. "Yes, I didn't find any girl from the mountains."

"I see. Now, tell me about her. I want to know if she will fit in the role I want her to have."

He swallowed. Dammit, that sounded almost threatening, and he suddenly worried for Katara. Hopefully she would be okay if she said yes.

* * *

_Answers to reviews:_

uchihaNaruto247: _Ha, yeah, that would be understandable for her to think this. Honestly, I would think that, too, if someone would ask of me what Zuko is going to ask Katara._

Smckoy929:_ I'm very sorry, like I already said, a lot happened, and I had a lot to do, and I began reading other fanfiction stories, and I bought a few books and mangas, and read them instead of writing this fic... Reading is really the only thing which keeps me from writing, and I'm sorry. I hope you liked this chapter, though, and I'll really try to update the next one sooner.  
_


	8. Chapter 7

_Hi, there!_

_The neyt chapter got a little too long, so I split it in two. Thanks for waiting, I know I take a long time updating these things, but my holidays have been much busier than I had thought they would be. _

_Nooowww, we're getting closer to Zuko finally asking Katara!_

_I hope you'll like this chapter! Please review!  
_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Katara clutched her notes tightly to her chest. The only bag in which they would have fit was still packed somewhere in a carton, so she had to hold them with her hands and arms.

The houses in the part of the city in which Coffee Cups lay were smaller than those around the university. They were a bit more narrow and also looked older than all these posh sandstone and modern glass constructions. Katara liked it there very much. It wasn't only the coffee shop, but also the book shop, kindergarten, restaurants and the supermarket, which mostly vended organic and local food. All the houses had balconies and flowers in all forms, sizes and colours. A lot of green was there too, coming from small trees, palm trees and bushes. The smell of coffee and fried noodles lay in the air, mixing with the fresh air and the scent of the flowers.

Katara just stepped around a child, who played some sort of detective game, and smiled. It was a nice day. The sun was shining, children laughing and birds chirping. Occasionally, she could hear a bike ringing or an engine kicking. The sound of a clarinet chimed through the air, playing a lovely tune which Katara didn't know. But she immediately looked up to find out where it came from.

January in the capital was a lot different than in the south. It was too cold to be outside without a jacket, but it was still warm enough for children to play outside and for birds not flying against South. The sun shone almost the whole time, making the earth dry.

Katara had had a bit of a problem to find something to wear this morning. She had a lot of things still packed and she also wanted to look good, but not too good, since she only met with a boy she had considered an idiot and who turned out not to be one. So she just wore jeans, her boots and a white sweater with purple sleeves, which was very soft and cozy, and she loved it. To be fully protected against the chilly air she also wore a leather jacket.

But she still wondered if she was right in changing her mind about Zuko. Maybe this had all been a big prank. Trying to negate this she shook her head lightly. No, she wanted to believe in Zuko, and maybe also in a possible friendship. But she couldn't do anything against her fears and grew more nervous, when she reached her favourite coffee shop. Taking a deep breath she walked in and looked around, seeing Zuko standing in line to order.

Sighing relieved she made her way to him.

He only noticed her when she was standing right next to him.

"Hey!" she said, feeling a bit awkward, since she normally greeted friends with a hug, but Zuko... He was no friend yet. She had already considered hugging him goodbye yesterday after he had accompanied her to the underground station, but it really would have been too early then.

"Hi!" His eyes widened, his smile stretching, as if he was glad and surprised to see her here. Did he have doubts about her, too?

"How are you? Was meeting with your family okay?" Katara asked, shouldering her bag.

Zuko grimaced, and shortly looked to the side, walking up in the line. Katara followed him, feeling relieved that he had been the last in line, so that she didn't stand in front of someone else. Zuko looked back at her and made a vague hand gesture. "It was okay. I mean, I'm always happy to see them," he added, and Katara felt he was sincere. "It just makes me uncomfortable sometimes. Especially now that almost everyone knows my father."

Katara grimaced, too, and pressed her lips together. "Yeah, you'll probably be recognised everywhere in a few weeks ."

He nodded and shrugged. "Yes, but I'll have to live with it. Dad focuses on the family for his campaign, and he therefore has to present himself with his own family quite often."

"Hm." She didn't kow what to say about this. In her opinion Kasaishi Ozai could go back into the hole he had crawled out of, but she couldn't tell Zuko this. Biting on her lip she pressed her notes tighter to her chest. Right. Zuko wasn't only someone she had considered an idiot and descendent of the Kasai Emperors, he was also the son of one of the richest business men in the country. And maybe he would become the son of the president soon. But hopefully this wouldn't happen... although, she had to admit that she had probably been wrong about Zuko, so maybe she was wrong about his father, too? If Zuko wasn't so bad, then how bad could his father be?

Taking a deep breath she looked around and spotted her favourite table to be free. It was at the window, small, only for three people and the chairs were bolstered with a deep red velvet. Even the arm rests were bolstered. Those chairs were much fancier than any her family had ever possessed, but they were very comfortable and also felt like an armchair.

The chairs in this coffee shop were all looking ancient and fancy, just as the sofas and armchairs. The tables were a lot simpler, only made of dark wood, but their legs were a bit embellishedly carved. The walls were painted in a light purple, a colour Katara associated with Gran Gran's old house in the south. Maybe this was also why she liked this coffee shop so much.

"Can you order for me? I'm going to reserve us a table," she told Zuko, but looked at the buffet, asking herself if she wanted a piece of cake or a muffin.

"Sure. What do you want?" Zuko asked, and she looked back at him.

"A hot chocolate with whipped cream. Aaand... uh... an apple tart." She nodded to herself, feeling satisfied with the choice she had made.

"Hot chocolate with whipped cream and an apple tart, alright." He nodded, smiling, and lowered his gaze.

Katara frowned, since it felt like he was looking at her breasts, but then she noticed he was only eying her notes. The reason why they were meeting, after all.

"Uh, yeah, these are all I've got," she quickly said, still feeling a bit uncomfortable, since without her notes he would look at her breasts.

He nodded, lifting his head to look into her eyes. "Okay."

She gave him a last smile, and went quickly for her favourite table, when she saw that another girl was walking that way, too. Oh no, Katara would be there first.

The other girl seemed not to have noticed her, and walked on in a normal pace. Katara quickly overtook her, and let her notes fall down heavily at the table. She sighed and turned to sit down, when she saw that the girl had stopped abruptly, her eyes wide and her mouth forming an O.

Katara raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm so sorry, did you want to sit here? I guess I didn't notice you there."

The girl blinked, and then did something Katara had not expected. She smiled. "Oh no, it's okay, really. Nothing could make my day bad." She had a dreamy look on her face, and Katara frowned, twisting her mouth.

"Okay... Alright, I guess," she said, not really knowing how she should react to this. "How come?" She tried to smile.

The girl blushed and looked down at the ground. "Oh, you know, I just noticed something." The next moment she turned around, looking at the counter.

Katara twisted her neck, trying to see what the girl was looking at. Or who.

There were two people behind the bar. A middle-aged woman who owned the shop, and a young man with an angular jaw and oddly shaped eyebrows.

The people in line were Zuko, two girls Katara's age, a man around his thirties, an old lady and another girl who was suddenly standing behind Zuko. She seemed to be a friend of the dreamy looking girl, since she kept mouthing at her. Her legs were a little bent, and one hand shielded her mouth from Zuko's back, the other pointing at it. The girl's eyes seemed to nearly fall out, and her cheeks were flushed, too.

"Uh...," Katara said finally understanding.

Those girls seemed to know who Zuko was, and they seemed to like who he was.

She almost started laughing. Oh my, they didn't even now him, but only because of his father they were practically drooling over him.

"You know him?" Katara asked, feeling a bit wicked, when she saw that Zuko advanced in the line.

"Yes! He's so awesome!" the dreamy girl breathed.

Katara suddenly understood how Sokka had these urges to make gagging motions.

"Uh, why?" she asked.

The dreamy girl turned to look at her with wide grey eyes. She had the typical looks of someone from the western province. Pale skin, dark brown hair and a smokey eye colour.

"Well, I always see him in the volcano club, but only from afar. It's amazing to watch him train. He plays tennis, and takes kung fu and dual dao swords classes. It's astounding to see how he moves. That humans can even move like this... and well, he looks incredible handsome!"

Katara raised an eyebrow. Wow, this girl didn't seem to have any standards.

Immediately, she cringed, scolding herself for insulting Zuko, even in her head. She had to stop this, since she knew now that he was a nice person who didn't deserve to be considered low standards.

"I cannot believe he's here. I come here every week, but I never saw him here," the girl went on, and her friend seemed to pass out, when Zuko opened his mouth to finally order.

"Oh my gods!" The girl next to Katara breathed, leaning at her table. Was she going to faint, too? "I never actually heard him speaking. His voice sounds so deep and raspy!"

Katara only shot her a dry look and groaned inwardly. Why did she have to start a conversation with this girl? It was clearly one of those annoying bimbos who just talked about hot rich guys and what she had shopped and eaten that day. She hoped Zuko would come to their table soon to make her go away.

Of course, Katara had the possibility to do this, too, but she wanted to be nice today. She already stole the girl's table (Katara's table which the girl had unallowedly headed to), she didn't want to be more of a bitch today.

Sighing, Katara took off her leather jackett and laid her bag down at the floor next to her chair.

She turned around to see if Zuko needed help with carrying their food and drinks to her, but they weren't even ready yet. The middle aged woman talked to Zuko instead, her face showing an expression, as if a wounded puppy stood in front of her.

Katara frowned. What the hell about Zuko reminded her of a wounded puppy?

She only saw someone who had fortunately not combed his hair back today, wore black jeans, leather dress shoes, a dark brown suit coat and a red scarf. Everything about him screamed "rich" and "law student" to her, and even though she studied law herself, nothing about this seemed really attractive to her. If he would wear boots, a leather jacket and maybe a beanie, and listen to music, then she would see someone she would find attractive. She had already noticed on Friday that Zuko looked good. He had done so during high school, too, but she hadn't really noticed it then. The military academy had sure made him broader, and his face seemed even more defined and angular than it had been during his teenager years. It wasn't him who wasn't attractive to her, but the way he gave himself. Everything about him which was transferred to his surroundings.

She blinked, when she noticed she had been staring and Zuko had looked at her questioningly and somehow expectingly.

What?

He gestured to something on the counter. Didn't he have money?

She raised her eyebrows.

He rolled his eyes, smiled shortly at the shop owner and took a tray in his hands with her hot chocolate and apple tart. She finally realised that there hadn't been enough space on the tray for his things, too, and that there was another tray and that he couldn't carry both to her. She grimaced, trying to look apologetically, and began to walk towards him.

But the dreamy girl stepped in front of her, walking towards Zuko. Katara frowned at her, and hoped that she didn't think he meant her with his gestures and impatient looks. The dreamy girl stopped in front of Zuko and turned around, following him with her eyes, when he frowned down at her, and stepped around her towards Katara.

She just pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh, but looked innocently at the dreamy girl. Her pointing friend openly stared at Katara with her mouth wide open.

Oh gods! Didn't they have better things to do than to adore someone they didn't even know?

She only smiled at the shop owner, and took the other tray in her hands, carrying it to her table, walking past the dreamy girl, who actually looked quite emberrassed. Well, good for her.

Katara had thought that girls would maybe want Zuko or drool over him, because he was the descendent of Emperors and without the revolution he would be a prince, and because his father was very rich and Zuko would (as he had said himself) probably overtake the company. But she had never really considered that there could be other reasons, too. Reasons which were really about him, and not his family. She hadn't known that he took Kung Fu classes and dual dao swords classes at the volcano club. He had only said that he played tennis. Did he find it embarrassing somehow? Or hadn't he wanted her to think of his ancestry again, since fighting and wielding swords was something the Kasai Emperors had been well known for.

She sat down on the cozy and soft chair, putting the tray on Zuko's side of the table. He had already put hers on her side.

Zuko looked at her with an open facial expression, a bit curious and friendly, which made it even harder for Katara not to laugh, since it meant he hadn't noticed anything.

Katara turned her head to the two girls, which stood now both in line, waiting for their order, and talking quickly to each other, risking some glances in their direction.

Katara didn't feel smug or anything, since this wasn't a date, she and Zuko weren't even friends yet, but she knew she hadn't done anything to give the girls the impression that Zuko was still free. Heat crawled into her cheeks, when she noticed that this was embarrassing for her, too. Because now those two girls would probably think that this was a date.

Was Zuko a person of public interest? Was he sometimes photographed to be in some magazines? Would drinking coffee (hot chocolate) with him lead people to think anything that was not true?

She had to keep an eye on those girls! What if they would take pictures?!

She inwardly cringed and grabbed her mug, searching for something to hold on to.

Zuko took a sip of his drink and Katara leaned over the table, trying to see what he had picked. Tea, again.

"What kind of tea is this?" she asked.

"Black. Darjeeling," he answered and swallowed again, suddenly looking really nervous. "How was your weekend? How did the move went?"

Katara rolled her eyes and stifled a groan. "It was exhausting! I had mum, dad, and Sokka for help, but if was still so much! And my new apartment is in the fifth floor! And there is no lift yet! They plan on building a few more floors on top of the house, and then there will also be a lift, but I will probably move out then!" She sighed. "The good thing is that I didn't need to paint the apartment anymore. We worked until late in the night, and the next day we still kept carrying and fixing up the furniture... It was even worse than moving in with Aang. And that had been exhausting, too. I'm totally spent!"

Zuko's eyes looked warmer than they ever had before, but also slightly amused. "I wish I could tell you I know how you feel, but my father paid a company to carry and fix up my furniture. I only carried some cartons, packed out and furnished everything."

Katara narrowed her eyes at him. "This is so not fair. You are male, you have more muscles than I have. Why do I have to carry the heavy stuff?"

Zuko shrugged and chuckled, although his cheeks had become a bit red. "I didn't want my father to pay them to do it. I couldn't stand the thought of other people carrying my stuff, but only because I feared they would break something. But it went well in the end. Do you have an apartment for you alone?"

Katara blinked, still thinking about what he had said about his own move. She let her fingers drum on the table plate. "Yep. No roomies for me. Just a lot of privacy." She frowned. "This will be really strange, since I never lived alone before."

Zuko looked down at his tea. "Me, neither. Sometimes, when Jet is annoying as hell, I wished I would live alone, but I'm mostly glad I don't. It's just that being roommates brings one even closer together in very unpleasant ways, too, and I could really live without knowing these things."

"What things?" Katara asked warily, but also curiously.

Zuko gave her a dry look. "Private things about Jet. He's not so much into privacy and always tries to invade mine!"

Katara grinned. "Yep, that is Jet. I hope you'll recover from your tragic experiences."

"I don't think I will," Zuko rasped, sounding depressed and lonely.

Katara chuckled and held tighter onto her mug.

He looked up at her, looking hurt. "What? I meant that!"

She raised one eyebrow. "Welk then, boohoo. Poor rich hot guy! Your life is so miserable," she scoffed.

Zuko first frowned, and Katara face palmed inwardly. Dammit, why was it so hard to keep being nice to him? And did she just say he was hot?

Yes, she did!

Her eyes grew wide, and she flushed heavily, although, good for her, it wasn't seen so well on her dark skin. But it still was awful. She risked a glance at him.

His expression suddenly changed, and he looked thoughtful and... calculating. He had never looked at her like this, not even in high school, when he had planned his next evil attempt on making her life miserable.

"It actually is sometimes," he said, sounding completely sincere. "My father just found a way to make my life even more miserable."

Katara raised her eyebrows again, but this time she was serious. "Really? What did he do?"

Zuko's jaw moved from side to side and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Urgh... He..." Sighing, he laid his hands on the table. "He wants me to find a girlfriend."

Katara couldn't stifle her laughter now.

Zuko scowled at her, something she knew he did rather well, and made a displeased noise with his tongues snapping against his teeth.

She knew this meant a question of hers was answered now. That Zuko did not have a girlfriend.

Katara tried to stop her laughter and swallowed, drinking something of her hot chocolate. "Okay, I'm sorry. And why is this so bad? Do you want to be single for your whole life?"

His scowl even deepened, if that was possible. "No, I don't, but..." He sighed, looked around and lowered his voice slightly.

Katara frowned in confusion. Why did he do this? What was he going to tell her?

"Because of our ancestry my father knows that a large part of the population of Elementia won't support him during his campaign. And... uhm, he wants me to get a girlfriend, who would make the people like him more." His voice became lower and he blushed darkly.

"Seriously?" Katara asked with a deep frown on her face. "I'm sorry, Zuko, but what hell of a father does that?"

He frowned at her. "What do you mean? This is really smart of him! Of course I don't like it, but I think it could really help him. People love romance between opposites!"

Twisting her mouth, she thought about this. He was right, this might actually work. If Zuko would get a girlfriend, and Ozai would show his acceptance of her in public, even though she might not be rich or something special or even be a mountainer or southerner, since they had been slaughtered by Zuko's ancestors. She had thought he was prejudiced, but with a girlfriend from the mountains or the south for his son, the people would maybe see Ozai in the same light she saw Zuko now.

She blinked. Wait, no, this couldn't be!

"What do you mean with opposites?"

His look became more cautious. "My father told me it shouldn't be a girl from a rich family. He also didn't want someone who stands in public herself. He wants a girl who is pretty normal. But, uh, I don't want to pretend to be interested in someone only to please my father."

Katara closed her eyes, nodding. "Well, that's only logical. I can't understand how your father would want something like this of you. Finding a girlfriend is something private, and shouldn't depend on something political."

Zuko raised his eyebrows at her words. "Well, it's like that now. But a hundred years ago no one here could decide freely who to be with or who to marry. The parents always had a say in this."

Katara rolled her eyes, hating these old fashioned beliefs. "Yeah, and I wouldn't be able to study."

Zuko nodded, frowning and sighing. He murmured something inaudible to himself, looking angry somehow.

"What?" she asked, feeling slightly annoyed. "What's your problem?"

"I just... I try to do something, but I don't get to do it!" he snarled, looking a bit desperate.

Confusion and a very bad feeling rushed through her. "W-what is it?"

He sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. Katara noticed that he did this quite often. Did he maybe have migraine?

"You don't have a job right now, do you, Katara?" he suddenly asked, probing.

Frowning she blinked. "Uhm... no. How do you know?"

"Sokka told me. Look, I might have a solution to both our problems." He kept on talking, but Katara didn't really hear it.

The nice, shy, and grumbly Zuko she had come to know disappeared again, showing her a calculating and focused person who only focused on pleasing his father.

"You don't really want my notes, do you? Are you even studying law?" she wanted to know, her voice snarling and accusing.

His eyes widened in shock. "N-no! I am studying law! But I... I told you it would feel like cheating to me."

She narrowed her eyes even more. "So they were a pretence?"

"I... I thought if I'd just ask you to meet me you would get the wrong picture," he admitted, looking a bit guilty.

She couldn't believe it. This was so damn wrong. How on Earth could he think such a thing?

She frowned, and confusion rushed through her. "Maybe. But wouldn't that only have served your purpose?"

Zuko shook his head. "No. I never wanted you to think I would want, or uh, be interested in you!"

She blinked, shooting him a dry look. "That doesn't make sense."

"Of course it does," he objected, frowning.

She shook her head, because she thought she didn't really get what he wanted of her. "What is it that you want from me?"

He jerked his head back, looking bewildered, but also frustrated. He quickly glanced around and then leaned forward.

Katara looked around quickly, too. Other than those two girls no one was looking at them, and they didn't seem to be too interested in their conversation, since they kept whispering to each other.

"I would like you to pretend to be my girlfriend."

"What? Why?"

"I told you! My father..."

"But there are tons of normal girls in this city! Why me?"

"Because it wasn't just about normal girls. My father wants this girlfriend to be from the mountains or the south. She should study something intellectual and be pretty, strong, and uh... You're the only girl I know who is like that," he finally said. "There aren't any other southern girls studying at the university, as far as I know."

She slightly opened her mouth, and couldn't help the feeling of betrayal which coursed through her. "So that's the only reason you've been nice to me? You still can't really stand me, right?" She knew it was odd how hurt she felt, since it had only been like this for two days, but she had really come to like him somehow.

He widened his eyes in shock and quickly shook his head. "No! No, that's not true! When I saw you again on Friday I didn't want anything to have to do with you. Jet told me you would be perfect for the role..."

"Jet knows?!" she interjected, horror rising within her. Although she was completely over him for years it still angered her that he had been part of this.

Zuko seemed to shrink a bit more. "Yeah. I told him, and he wanted to help me to find a girl which would fit my father's description. He immediately proposed you, but given our history, I didn't want that." He pinched the bridge of his nose again. "Just when we talked and apologised I started to think that it might work."

Katara still scowled at him and asked herself if she should just leave. But she still had a hot chocolate to drink. A really good hot chocolate.

"I know you're probably upset with what I'm asking of you, and I know it could offend you, but please listen to me. And when I'm done you can just call me an idiot again and walk out of here," he proposed, his eyes looking pleading and suddenly he did look like a wounded puppy.

She narrowed her eyes even more, and couldn't believe she was going to listen to this. But he had said earlier he had a solution for her job problem, so maybe it would be worth it to at least hear him out.

"I won't call you an idiot. I'd call you a crazy asshole and your father, too. But I'll listen."

* * *

_Answers to reviews: _

_To _Ohfortheloveofpete _(Chapter 1): I agree with you, that's why I always try to include Kataang in my stories, even if it doesn't last. I'm just not convinced it really would have been something for life, but I totally love Aang, so I think he really deserves Katara. But I don't think I would actually write a multichaptered Kataang story, since I think there's less material there, after all, they are really together in the series, so why also write a fic about them being together? At least, that's how I see it._

_To _Smckoy929_ (Chapter Seven): Thank you! I tried! _

_To _IDidn'tSignUpForThis _(Chapter Six):_ _Oh, that happened to me once, too, but I also check the ATLA fanfiction website with all the updated stories kind of every day, so it was okay. I'm sure you will still be able to follow this story. Besides, isn't it a great feeling finding out that there have been several new chapters posted you haven't read yet? I always love it when that happens, because it means more to read for now! Yeah, it wasn't so easy to get Zuko and Katara to warm up to each other. Haha!:D Well, that's why it is a Zutara fic!_

_To _IDidn'tSignUpForThis _(Chapter Seven): Wow, thanks! I guess that means I did it right. I was kind of afraid of having written it too cliché. Yep, he is!:D That's why he's got so many fans!  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247 _(Chapter Seven): That's a good way to say it, and is exactly what is happening. But Zuko should probably be used to things blowing up in his face... Oh, and the hole will even get deeper... (evil laughter)_


	9. Chapter 8

_Hi everyone! This is the last chapter I'm posting before going on holiday. I'll be in China for three weeks (I'm so excited!), so I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted. If I won't have any time to write then probably in four weeks. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!_

_Please review!_

_I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters._

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Zuko frowned at Katara, clearly not liking how she had insulted his father, but he actually took his chance, and didn't argue further. "Alright. So, yeah, my father thinks the probability of being elected is higher if he gets support from the lower class. But he won't get it, if not someone of their class will show them that they should vote for him. And a lot of people still hold prejudices against my family, so he also wants to show that we have nothing against southerners or mountainers. A romance between rich and uhm, well, not rich, is always what people like. So he told me I should quickly find a girl which met his descriptions. He actually gave me a list. So, and the only one I found was you, but I don't want to pretend to be interested in someone, and I think feelings would just make it even worse, since this would only be for his election, so Jet had the idea that I could just pay a girl to play my girlfriend. We would have to go out, showing ourselves and maybe come along a few times with my father to some events, but otherwise nothing would change. And I'll pay you. Just name your price and I'll pay it. But Katara, please, consider to say yes. You're my only chance at this," he pleaded, his eyes wider than usual, but this time she did not find him cute at all. Not because of what he had said or because she began to consider him an idiot again, but because nothing about Zuko's face was actually cute.

Her mouth was twisted and one eyebrow raised. If it weren't for this stupid election she would probably say yes. Zuko was rich, at least his father, and she was sure she could get him to pay her a higher monthly salary than she had ever had.

"Look, I don't think you're bad or anything, but I really don't want your father to win the election."

Zuko raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

She scoffed. Wasn't this obvious? "Well, he's not the right person for it. What does he know of the feelings and desires of normal people? Twenty thousand dollars are to him like twenty and he wants you to use someone to make him win! I know nothing of him that would make him a good president!"

Zuko's nostrils flared and he began to look angry. "That's not true! You're just prejudiced against him! You think just because of our ancestors and because we're part of the upper class of the society we are all evil and cold hearted, don't you?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Well, yeah, this was exactly what she had been thinking. The rich just didn't know her world, and how life was for people like her.

Looking extremely pissed Zuko averted his gaze.

She took that as a definite sign and hurried to drink her hot chocolate. When it was empty she began to stand.

"Wait! What if you meet him? You can see that he's not at all how you have been thinking!" Zuko suddenly spoke up.

She froze for a moment, actually thinking this through, but no, she would not ever do that! She wasn't that desperate! There were tons of, millions of jobs she could still get! Letting herself get paid by Kasaishi Zuko was something her pride did not allow.

"No, thank you. I am not interested."

oOo

Katara had left Zuko in a desperate and angry state.

She had been his only hope, but he didn't want to give up. He knew he must satisfy his father. He must do what his father had told him to. He didn't want to think about the possible consequences.

There was no one else but Katara. What could he do to make her agree?

He had been thinking about this for days, avoiding his father's phone calls and pretending to be sick on Sunday for family lunch. Ursa had come by in the afternoon to check on him, so he had had to play ill, while Jet had laughed silently at him.

Jet didn't have an idea either, and he doubted he could convince Katara into this. But then again Jet mostly shrugged about this, as if it would still be okay, if Zuko failed. At times like this Zuko wished his friend knew a bit more about his father than he did, but Zuko had never told anyone what had happened all those years ago. Only his father, Shi Yu, and himself knew about this. He suspected his uncle to know it, too, since he had been so insistent about keeping him from the capital, but no one else had ever seen his back.

If his father wouldn't win the election, then it would be his fault. And he cringed at the thought of what could happen then. Ice began to form in his organs, and sweat broke on his forehead, whenever he thought of this. Which was quite often.

Zuko still went through a few documents for the company, when one name seemed to light up on the paper. Supaki Nensho.

Zuko blinked, and an idea popped into his head. Yeah, Supaki Nensho was the person who could help him.

He rummaged through his wardrobe, searching for his secret saving box. He took everything out, spreading the bills on his bed, and searching for envelopes. He thought for a moment, and then separated his savings into two thousands, five thousands, and ten thousands, putting them in the envelopes. He wrote the sum on them, quickly gathered his wallet, mobile phone, and keys, took the envelopes and left the apartment in a rush, still putting the envelopes in his bag.

"Hey Zuko, where you going?" Jet called from the sofa.

Zuko stopped and stared at the door. "I... quickly want to get... a burger."

"Oh, I'll come with you!"

"No!"

He was met with silence and cringed. Dammit. Not daring to move he listened to Jet's movements. He stood directly behind him, when he spoke again.

"Where are you really going?" His voice sounded stern, which made it much deeper than it usually was.

"I'm visiting someone. He might be able to help with... this girlfriend matter," he reluctantly told his friend.

"What?"

Hearing the confusion in Jet's tone Zuko turned around to face him. The light from the living room lighted Jet's hair, his face remained in the darkness of the hallway, but Zuko could see his frown just clearly.

"I thought you were done with this. It didn't work, so why are you still trying?"

Zuko felt trapped, moving his jaw and thinking hardly, what he should and could say. "I won't fail, Jet. Father told me what to do, and I'm going to do it." He suddenly saw a solution, and narrowed his eyes. "Do you have a problem with this?"

Jet's face contorted even deeper. "Yeah, I actually do. Who are you trying to prove something to? You already tried, and it didn't work, so you could put an end to this. The world won't end just because you don't find a southern or mountain girl."

Swallowing his fear down, he put a deep scowl on his face. "You know what? I think you're just jealous because it would be Katara."

Jet looked like he'd been slapped. "I wouldn't be! I was the one who told you to try it with her, and it's not my fault it didn't work!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Zuko said dryly and opened the apartment door.

"Oh, just piss off, Zuko!" Jet growled.

Ignoring the pain his best friend's anger inflicted on him, he smirked. "Seems like I've hit a nerve, haven't I?" Then he stepped outside and quickly shut the door behind him. He hated not having the last word.

After driving for fourty minutes Zuko parked at the roadside, and marched to the large brick stone house, which was painted in black.

The door and window frames looked as if wood worms had been attacking them, all splintered. The paint on the walls was breaking off, and the glass of the windows was as dirty as if no one had been living in there for decades.

Everything in Zuko rebelled heavily against going into such a house, but he had to. Taking a deep breath he pushed the bell for 'Nensho'.

He waited a few seconds, until a gruff voice barked "What? Who's this?"

Zuko swallowed again, but he would not show his fear, not let them hear it. "I am Kasaishi Zuko. I wish to speak to Supaki."

The voice laughed roughly. "Kasaishi Zuko? Yeah, and I am Emperor Sozin!"

Zuko felt his anger rise quickly and leaned forward to the interphone. "Come down, and I'll prove it, you trash!"

"Who the fuck you calling trash, asshole?!"

"Supaki knows me, so why won't you let me in?"

"Supaki is busy at the moment."

The anger twisted in him, forming knots in his belly. "Let me in, and I'll wait!"

"What do you want from him?"

Zuko was close to screaming in rage and kicking at the house wall. He felt the urge to destroy this place, and he wanted to see it burn. Blinking, he quickly wiped these images away. He took a few breaths to calm himself, knowing it was better to act on his anger in the gym.

"I want him to do something for me," he hissed.

"Ah, why didn't you say that earlier?" The voice chuckled, kind of hysterical and high pitched, which reminded Zuko of a hyena's laugh. Not that he had heard one before, he was thinking about the hyenas from The Lion King.

The door buzzed, and he opened it, stepping into the dark and smelly staircase. He rather searched his way up in the dark than to touch around for a light switch.

"Third floor, Kasaishi Zuko!", the same voice called down to him, sounding sarcastic while saying his name and laughing like a hyena again.

It became lighter when Zuko reached the first floor, and he took the next steps more quickly.

The person meeting him at the door in the third floor was a tall and thin man with a goatee, combed back brown hair and a small face on a comparatively large head. He only wore jeans and an undershirt, not even shoes. His arms were full of hair, as well as his chest which tangled itself with the three gold chains he wore.

His eyebrows raised, when he saw Zuko. "Oohh, you actually could be Kasaishi Zuko. You got that rich look, and you do resemble Kasaishi Ozai."

Zuko forced all his willpower and strength into his face, knowing that from now on he would have to seem controlled, in power, cool, and not intimidated. He had to seem intimidating. He kept his face mostly impassionate, while a bit irritated, too.

"And who are you?" Zuko demanded, stopping at the last step.

"My name is Wei."

Zuko's left eyebrow raised slightly. Right. That was obviously not his name.

"Please come in." Wei made an inviting hand gesture, and Zuko nodded, stepping forward.

The inside of the apartment didn't look as bad as the house itself. The brick stone walls were all left natural, and everything had kind of an industrial loft style.

He looked around, finding that he would like to live in here, too. It was way manlier than the furniture Jet had chosen.

"So how long will Supaki be busy?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

Wei led him to the sofa and took a seat in a large leather armchair. He crossed his legs. "He'll be finished soon."

Zuko nodded again, trying not to let his discomfort show.

"You want something to drink?" Wei asked with all that amused uncaringness only the hardened, but humorous assistant of a criminal could.

"Yeah, thanks." Maybe it would calm him down somehow.

Wei stood up, walking over the carpet and to the kitchen isle which looked more like a bar. "Whiskey? Vodka? Or just a beer?"

Zuko frowned. He didn't want alcohol. He needed to drive later, and he couldn't let his senses become washy with what he was going to do.

"A tea, please."

Wei almost lost his jaw then. "Tea? Are you kidding me?"

Zuko scrunched his nose and glared at him. "No, why would I?" he growled.

Wei lifted his hands and put water in the boiler. "I'm a genius at mixing a drink, but I'm not good at all with tea, I have to say." He looked through some cardboards. "And I'm afraid everything we have is black, chai, and Christmas dream."

"I'll take the black," Zuko replied, and let his gaze wander about the room. It looked so different than what he had imagined Supaki's apartment to be like. He had to remember a few things, so that he could replace some of the furniture Jet had liked.

A loud thump caused Zuko's attention. He straightened itself and heard the rhythmic thump, as if someone would bang metal against wood. It became louder the closer it got, until the muscular giant with the shaped head and three-day beard came into view. On his forehead was a tattoo of an eye. The thumping he had heard came from the artificial leg made of metal, which Zuko tried not to look at.

He hummed deeply, while he looked Zuko up and down.

Zuko quickly stood, trying to be not confused by the fact Supaki was only wearing a gown. In a light pink colour with flowers on it.

"Supaki Nensho. I am Kasaishi Zuko and there is something you need to do for me. I want you to keep someone from finding a job."

Supaki raised his chin.

"I'll pay you two thousand Yuan for this," Zuko continued.

Wei started to snicker again. "What, you think Nensho's an aid agency?"

"Three," Zuko relented.

"Fifteen," Wei argued, and Zuko's head snapped in his direction. Why was he doing the dealing and not Supaki?

"Five."

"Thirteen."

"Six."

"Twelve."

"Seven."

"For the gods' sake, nine thousand!"

Zuko took his time to answer, but after a moment he nodded. He turned around to Supaki again and searched through Jet's chat on his mobile phone, finding a good picture of Katara. He held it up for Supaki. "This is Katara Qinu. She's from the south. I came here, because I heard you were the best. Can you prevent her from finding any sort of job in the next two months?" That was the only time he would give Katara. More than that and then, well, he would have to live through his father's wrath.

Supaki nodded, his facial expression not changing at all.

"Good. Don't tell anyone about this. Especially not my father. Make sure she won't find a job. Wherever she'll ask, whoever she's going to talk to, she will not get appointed."

* * *

_Wei is an OC, but I hope you all noticed that Supaki Nensho is Sparky Sparky Boom Man/Combustion Man. 'Nensho' means 'combustion' according to Google translator, and according to some website 'Supaki' means 'sparky'. I kind of wanted to mix those nicknames, because I thought translating 'man' wouldn't be so cool. _

_I know it's not the same, totally different environment and other dialogue, but this is this AU's version of Zuko asking Sparky Sparky Boom Man/Combustion Man to kill Aang, which, of course, doesn't happen here.  
_

_I also know that it is really shitty of Zuko to do something like that, but let's not forget that he is still his daddy's boy, and in his evolution kind of in book one or the beginning of book three. The only difference is that he's a bit nicer, which is probably because he had more contact to other people his age. But he's still totally under Ozai's influence, so he would do anything to make his father happy._

_I hope you liked the chapter anyway, I know it's a bit short..._

**_Answers to reviews:_**

_To _BumiCat: _Thanks a lot! This would have been pretty embarrassing. It was actually pretty embarrassing, but I was really tired, and the document was called 'Chapter Seven', and I just didn't get it was from a different story. So, thanks again!_

_To _Smckoy929: _Here it was! It wasn't really easy writing what Zuko said, since I had to explain everything, but make it embarrassed-Zuko-ish. But I think if he is really sincere about something he can explain stuff without stuttering...  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUpForThis: _Great! I hope they worked for this chapter, too. H__e, sorry. Things kind of did fall apart. I just noticed that Katara would never ever agree to this just like this. She needs more pressure, and a really good reason. If Zuko was now a really good friend, she'd probably do it, but in this situation I fugured she'd need more convincing.  
_

_To_ uchihaNaruto247:_ Yeah, to me, too. I actually wanted this to happen a lot earlier, but then all those other characters wanted an appearance, too, and Zuko wasn't sure enough about it... Well, I hope it was okay and more realistic with him waiting.  
_


	10. Chapter 9

_Hi, everyone, I'm back!_

_And I'm so so sorry for the wait! I got a very bad cold right after I came back from China, and I'm still coughing from time to time. My journey was wonderful, and the places I visited were astonishing! I certainly do miss the Chinese food, and in some places I could almost imagine to be in the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom. Mostly Fire Nation, though, since there is a lot of red in China. _

_Enough about me now, since you're here to read the new chapter, right? I hope you'll like it. Please review, if you do!:)_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its charactes. _

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

It was cursed.

Or she was cursed.

Either way, it started to get highly annoying and accepting Zuko's offer became a lot more tempting.

Katara's search for a job went nowhere.

She had tried everything in the next weeks, now even more determined to find a good job soon and on her own. It had shocked her that she would have considered accepting Zuko's offer, if his father wasn't who he was. She wasn't someone who did things like that. A fake relationship? What kind of sick idea was that? What was wrong with Zuko? She didn't need him anyway, and would be able to find work all by herself. Or that's what she had thought.

Reading through all the classified ads in the newspaper she had written to every e-mail, called every number, and had gone to every address of a job she was positive she could manage. She had felt relatively sure of herself, knowing that it could only be a matter of time until she found a new job. It couldn't be that difficult, right?

She knew she probably spent too much time trying to get a new job, since her studying suffered a bit. The first test she had to write, after Zuko had talked to her, seemed to be like a big fail to her. She hadn't had an easy time studying. She had tried for a few days, very constantly, actually, but finding a new job had somehow gotten in her way. Reading newspapers, scrolling through the internet, going out to a shop... And when she had had the time to just sit at her desk and read and take notes she always had had to think of Zuko and going through the pros and cons of his offer.

But she was no desperate bimbo, and would be fine without a man. She was a feminist, after all!

But she still hadn't been able to concentrate during the exam, hadn't known the answer to a few questions, although she was pretty sure she knew them somewhere in her brain.

Being alone with all her thoughts in her new apartment didn't help a lot. She was also unable to pack her things out of the cartons, and spent her time trying to study, trying to get a job, and trying not to think about Zuko's offer.

But somehow every shop or company told her they didn't need help anymore, that the classifieds she had seen were old, or that she wasn't fitting the job description. Sometimes they even said her character wasn't right, but they never became discriminating.

She really thought this search was cursed somehow, since she couldn't believe most of these people. Some of them had obviously been lying, or looking nervous, besides, she also couldn't believe that her character wasn't right. She had been friendly the whole time, only nice, smiling, polite, and had also restrained her sharp tongue from snapping quite several times. She knew she had been her best, her most perfect, but they still hadn't wanted her.

Did it have to do something with her? Was she just wrong? Was it maybe really her looks and personality which seemed so appalling? She couldn't understand it! She knew she was pretty! She knew she could be nice, and normally it was really easy to get people to do what she wanted them to, so why did this happen?

One week later her exams were over, and her first rent came closer. She still had some savings, but she didn't want to spend them on her rent. It was frustrating.

Lying in bed, she clutched a pillow to her chest, thinking about the interview she had tomorrow. What if this wouldn't work, then what would she do?

She caught herself more and more often thinking about what would happen if she accepted Zuko's offer. It couldn't be that bad, right? They would just go out, go to some events, he'd maybe buy her some new fancy clothes for those, but that would be all, right? This didn't sound too bad.

Although she cringed inside at the thought that her family would think she would fraternise with the enemy. Not that her family was very prejudiced, but a relationship with a descendent of people who had killed hers... She wasn't sure how they would react, since she clearly would never tell them that the relationship wasn't even real. What was more was that it would still be a moral dilemma. Katara would feel very bad for taking money for pretending something which wasn't real. Although, wasn't this what actors did, too? But people knew actors were acting, but she would be lying. She'd lie to her family, and friends, and worst of all, to everyone. Every stranger, almost every person in the whole country would know her if she agreed to this.

And what would happen afterwards? Would she forever be just Kasaishi Zuko's ex-girlfriend? Would she never be seen as Katara Qinu alone?

But it didn't do anything good to think about that. This was far ahead in the future, and if Kasaishi Ozai couldn't convince her that he'll be a good president, she would never agree to this. And she was sceptical from the beginning. He wouldn't have a simple job convincing her, so she was sure that she'd do the right thing. She knew this man could be a monster. And if there would be one hint to that she'll be out of there as soon as possible.

Don't do anything too hasty, Katara, she told herself. Wait until the interview tomorrow, and then you can text Zuko if necessary.

**oOo**

She did quite that, although it was hard not to think about this.

In the end she wondered if it was kind of destiny that she got no job. That somehow she was meant to be Zuko's fake girlfriend for the next year. Maybe by being close to his family she would uncover some of their evil plans and save the country from another era of tyranny.

_Don't be ridiculous, Katara_, she scolded herself. Her imagination was running rampant, but seeing herself as the saviour of a country? Riiight.

Although, it was worth thinking about. She'd do anything to stop the past from happening again to the Mountainers, to her people, or to anyone else in the world. And becoming Zuko's fake girlfriend, being close to his family, and pretending to be super in love with him, who would ever suspect that she did this to spy on and keep an eye on them? Someone had to do this, after all.

She cringed at how arrogant she was sounding in her head, but this was something she couldn't get rid of in her head. Being suspicious of any Kasaishis, of any rich and western province people. She didn't like it, but maybe her prejudices could be used for something good this way.

The interviewer had told her that he would contact her, but she was pretty sure it would be a negative answer anyway.

Walking outside the shop she stopped, and reached for her phone, scrolling through her contacts, only to realise that she didn't have Zuko's number.

Scowling she searched for Jet, but he probably didn't have the same phone number as in high school anyway.

Sighing she still decided to call it.

The call was answered a few moments later. "Hello?" a high pitched girl voice said.

Katara grimaced. Wow, Jet let some random girl answer his phone? Why was she not surprised?

"Uh, hi. My name is Katara. This number once belonged to Jet. Do you know him?" she asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.

"Yeah, hi Katara. This is Smellerbee. I've got Jet's old phone."

Katara blinked, feeling surprised. She hadn't thought about this possibility. "Hi Smellerbee! Wow, I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Yeah, so what do you want?"

Katara raised an eyebrow and grimaced in annoyance. She had just tried to be friendly! Sighing, she started to walk in the direction of her apartment. "I need Jet's number."

"What? Why? You don't plan on getting close to him again, do you?" Smellerbee asked suspiciously and slightly sounding pissed.

"No!" Katara snarled, feeling disgusted. "I need another number from another person from him. I don't know anyone else who has his number, only Jet," she explained.

"Wooow. So first you dump him and now you're going to call him, getting his hopes up, to ask for another guy's number?" Smellerbee snarled.

Katara lowered one of her eyebrows into a frown, feeling that her eye would soon start to twitch. "This was almost five years ago! And I lately met Jet, and we're fine, and he would not get his hopes up. He even tried to set me up with a friend of his, so can you just give me his damn number?!" she snapped. At first her voice had still sounded calm, but she had felt herself exploding pretty fast. She took a deep breath. "Please," she added, feeling proud that she had remembered to do so.

At the other end of the line there was silence for several seconds, and Katara already opened her mouth to snap something, when she heard Smellerbee sigh.

"Alright, drama queen. Got something to write on?"

She blinked, forgetting about the 'drama queen' comment, as she frantically began to look in her bag for a pencil and a piece of paper. "Wait..." she mumbled, but only found her curriculum vitae. Raising one eyebrow she decided she probably wouldn't need this anymore, besides she could always print out a new one. So she wrote Jet's number down on that sheet.

"Thanks Smellerbee. I promise I won't do anything bad to him. It's nice of you to worry, though. You're obviously a great friend," she said.

"Yeah, whatever. Bye." And she hung up.

Katara blinked then lowered her phone to glower and growl at it, feeling strong irritation towards that girl. But she quickly stopped treating her phone like a threat, since she was currently in public, and no one should see her acting strange on the street. It was bad enough that Sokka and Toph already always got quite confused looks, whenever they were out.

Smiling friendly around to no one in particular Katara typed Jet's number in her phone and pressed the green button. Waiting for him to pick up she started walking down the street towards her underground station. The sky was clear blue, as it often was in the capital, and a cool wind blew through the streets. It was a weather which Katara loved. Cold and sunny was the best mix in her opinion, and although her life kind of sucked right now she couldn't help but smile at feeling the sun's rays and the wind's cool caress on her face. She shortly closed her eyes to enjoy it more, when Jet picked up the phone.

"Hi, this is Jet!" his voice greeted her.

"Hey Jet, it's Katara!" she answered, putting a smile into her voice.

"Hi, Katara!" Jet exclaimed, sounding surprised. "Wh-what's up?"

"Uh... Not much. Well, listen, I wanted to ask you if you could please give me Zuko's phone number?" she asked, biting nervously on her lower lip.

"Yeah. You wanna talk to him right now? He's sitting next to me," he offered, and Katara actually face palmed.

Of course! How could she have forgotten that they were roommates and best friends? Of course they were together!

"No, thanks. His phone number would be enough, thanks."

"Okay, sure. I'll send you his contact," Jet told her.

"Great. Thank you, Jet. Gotta go. Bye."

"Bye, Katara!" Jet replied, before Katara ended the call.

Letting out a lot of air she waited for Jet's message, her hand clasped around her phone in the pocket of her coat to be able to feel her phone's vibration.

Her mind wandered off to the food she had to buy and what she would do in her holidays. Her wish had been to work a lot, but if she accepted Zuko's offer she'd have a lot more of free time. Maybe she could go to the Southern Province and visit her old village. She could take her grandmother with her, since she knew that Grangran didn't get a lot of opportunities to go to the southern province, and in her age she didn't want her grandmother to travel alone anymore.

Her phone vibrated and she quickly pulled it out, seeing Jet's text message. She didn't only have Zuko's phone number now, but also his address and e-mail. Sighing she stepped closer to the house wall to be out of the way of bike riders or pedestrians as she quickly tipped a text to Zuko.

_Still need a fake girlfriend?_

She wanted to slip her phone back into her pocket, but it already vibrated, indicating her a new text message had arrived.

_Yes. Have you changed your mind? _

She frowned for a moment, not liking this one bit more, but sighing she finally typed.

_Kind of. I want to meet your father first. Alone_.

She stared at the screen, waiting for the next message, when the phone buzzed and she noticed she was being called. Since she hadn't saved him as a contact yet, she only saw his number, when she pressed on the green button.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Zuko here," he answered, sounding nervous.

"Er... hey!" she greeted him, not knowing if she should keep up 'Try-being-nice-to-Zuko'.

"Listen, about that..."

Frowning she wondered if it had just been a lie that she could meet his father to see that he wasn't as evil as she had thought.

"When you meet my father... Could you pretend to really like me? I mean, like... er... as if..."

"As if I wanted to be your girlfriend, because I like you like that, but I still got doubts because of your family?" she interrupted him.

"Yeah, exactly!"

"So your dad shouldn't know that we would not really be together?" she probed.

For a moment he didn't reply, but then a "Yeah! Exactly!" sounded loudly and hurriedly through the speaker.

"Why would you lie to him about this?" she asked, feeling suspicious.

There was again a short silence, before she heard him sighing. "He asked me to get a girlfriend, and I figured he meant a real one. One that would like me. I just don't want to disappoint him by not bringing a real one."

Her frown deepened, since that sounded a bit odd, but she got that he didn't want to disappoint his father. She felt the same way towards hers, which was exactly why she wouldn't want her father to know that this would be a fake relationship she'd earn money for. Her father would have to think that they genuinely liked each other, too.

Sighing she relented, and noticed that without texting she could actually keep walking. "Okay. I'll act as if I liked you. Just send me the time and the place and please more than a day earlier!"

"Okay, thank you, Katara! I'm glad you reconsidered," he said, his voice sounding softer.

"I didn't really, I just need a job, that's all!"

"Erm... Right. But still... You're doing me a big favour, you know."

"Nothing's decided yet, Zuko. I'll make a decision only after I met your father. I want to have a good person for president. Someone whose visions and program I'd agree with," she made clear and stopped at the traffic light on a crossroad. Right on the other side there was the underground station she could take for getting home.

"I understand. I assure you my father would be a great president. You can already look his election program up, it's on his website. And Katara?"

"Yes?"

"Our ancestry does not define who we are. In this time we are raised completely differently from our ancestors. We know about such things as human rights and morality, you know."

She grimaced a bit, feeling a bit bad again at thinking so poorly of this family.

"Yeah, I know you know that. I'm just... I don't know. This is more difficult for me than you'd think, after what I've heard my entire life," she explained.

"I know, but I'm glad you try to see us in a different light," he said, his voice a bit quieter than before.

"Mhm, yes. I... gotta go now. The underground and my train leaves in a bit," she tried to end the call.

"Yeah, totally! Take your train! Uh, have a nice ride!"

She raised her eyebrows at his words, his awkwardness almost leaking through the line. "Thanks! Bye!"

"Bye."

**oOo**

Ozai raised an eyebrow at his son, who was stiffly sitting on the chair facing his father's desk.

"Is that so?" he asked, causing a shiver to run down Zuko's spine.

"Yes," he said. "It's because of our ancestry, and the fact that she's from the south, and she feels a bit unsettled about that, she told me. She was raised to think ill of us, and now that you're running for president..." Zuko bit on his lower lip.

"I see. She can meet me, of course. We could all have dinner tomorrow, if she'd like," he proposed, sounding unusually pleasant.

"Well, she told me she'd like to meet you alone. So that her impression of you won't be alternated by your interaction with other people," Zuko explained, feeling very grateful for asking for Jet's help to formulate this accurately. They hadn't talked about their fight those weeks ago, when Zuko had brought Jet a burger on his way home, and had agreed to be there, when Jet would throw a party at their apartment the next day. In situations like this Zuko was extremely grateful for his friend's carefree and not very complicated being.

Ozai's lips curved into a light smile. "Aha. You seem to have got yourself a smart girlfriend."

Zuko cringed. "Yeah, well... Would you mind not using this expression on her when you meet her?"

Ozai frowned, pressing his eyebrows together, and Zuko almost smelled the disappointment speech which would come, when he quickly said: "She only wants to be my girlfriend once she saw for herself that my family is... not crazy and power hungry like our ancestors. That you will make a good president. So, right now, the status would be dating," he explained, feeling very stupid at saying this to his father and also quite afraid.

But his father surprised him, because he sighed and chuckled. "You young people are really strange with all those names you give to things. Alright, I won't call her your girlfriend. It's a bit annoying, though, that I have to convince her to become your girlfriend. One should think that you could to that all on your own." Both his eyebrows raised and an unwanted wave of fear coursed through Zuko's body.

He let his head hang down. "I'm sorry, father. It's not that she doesn't like me, she just doesn't understand how I can be loyal to you in the campaign because of our ancestry. It kind of caused a fight," he mumbled, still looking down, because he knew he was a bad liar. His voice was deep and almost sounded sad, but his face and especially his eyes always betrayed him when he lied.

"Alright. But remember, this girl is there to increase my chances at winning the election. Don't you let yourself get caught in this relationship. I don't want you to end with such a person," Ozai warned, pointing with his glasses at him.

Zuko flinched and blinked, since he couldn't process what his father had said just yet. Had he really just been insulting southerners? Or was it because Katara wasn't rich? Either way it felt unfair to Zuko, since his father needed her, but couldn't value her, or people like her. He tensed a bit, his jaw clenched, since except for her character he didn't see anything about Katara which was appalling. Her being from the south or not rich would never stop him from wanting to be with her, or rather any girl. That just wasn't important to him. The urge to defend Katara was there...

But he only nodded. "Yes, father."

* * *

**_Answers to reviews:_**

_To _BumiCat _(for chapter one): I'm very glad to read this, and to know that my fic makes you feel like that:) I know exactly how you're feeling. I was just thinking recently about things which make me happy and the only thing that does so on a regular basis which came to my mind was when one of the fics I'm following is updated. _

_To _Smckoy929_: Yep, he's desperate. I hope it became clear that he's doing this because he fears Ozai that much. Anyway, I would not like to spoil you, but it is kind of obvious, isn't it? After all, I don't write only from Katara's and Zuko's point of view to have them fall for their exes or some OCs...  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Yep. It is Zuko, so everything always blows up in his face (as he says in "Bitter Work", book two). And because it is kind of a canon rule I thought I could use it here, too. And on digging a hole, I honestly have no idea what Zuko would have all done in order to please his father. Imagine he hadn't been banished and had remained in the Fire Nation with Azula, he would have done worse and worse things to please his father (if we pretend he'd have no sense of justice). But Zuko already tried to do what's right in this fic and it got him nowhere, so he tries now everything to never disappoint his father again.  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This: _Hmmm... Well, it is an interesting country with an interesting culture and history, and maybe this author was also just an ATLA fan? I mean, that is not why I went to China. It was meant as an exchange for students, but with tourist activities, too. We had some courses and learned a lot about Chinese culture, language, history and also how to do business with Chinese people. Some of those rules reminded me of the rules in the Fire Nation War Council, though, e.g. "Never disagree with an elder out loud in front of everyone else." Anyway, all I can say is that China is definitely worth a visit, and that I had a great opportunity and just had to grab it, and I had a great time there as well, learining a lot of new things, eating a lot of delicious things, and buying a lot of cheap things :D..._


	11. Chapter 10

_Hey, everyone! I'm sorry this took me so long, but I kind of didn't know where to go with this chapter, since I didn't want Katara's and Ozai's meeting to happen just yet. Anyway, I believe I made he chapter quite okay, at least, a bit funny. _

_Please let me know what you think! _

_I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

It sure felt strange to Katara having Sokka and Toph in her apartment for an initiation party, but not Aang. Well, Sokka was her brother, so of course he was here. After all, dad, mum, and gran gran were there, too.

It had been her mother's idea to have an initiation party. They had brought all the ingredients one needed to have a Southern province dinner, and Katara loved it.

Sitting at her new table with her family and one friend was really nice and fun. It were those moments when Katara felt very thanful to have such a good life.

But someone was missing. Katara knew that everyone felt it, but no one actually asked why Aang wasn't here. Her family knew that she had broken up with him, but she had told them that she wanted to stay friends with him. Thus he should be here. But of course Katara knew that having Aang here would only feel stranger, but she couldn't help but miss him. He was not the one she wanted to spend her life with in a romantic way, but he had also been her best friend and by her side since five years. She was mostly glad being on her own for the first time, since she thought she needed this to figure out who she was and what she wanted, but being alone with all this silence all this time felt depressing. At least in the last two days. She hadn't had a lot to do then, and had had to listen to the radio the whole time in order to not feel that alone.

She had even asked Toph if she could invite Aang, but Toph had shaken her head and told her that this was a dumb idea. Aang wasn't ready yet to treat her like a friend. Katara had been very sad at that, but it wasn't as if there was anything about it she could do.

But what would Aang think if the meeting with Kasaishi Ozai went well, and Katara would agree to become Zuko's fake girlfriend? All of her friends thought she hated him! Apart from Sokka maybe, but only because he had been there, when they had met at the coffee shop. And would Aang become jealous? Would it maybe destroy their friendship once and for all? That she would have a new "boyfriend" three months after they broke up? What would this say about her?

Trying to fight off those thoughts she tried to concentrate on the game they were playing.

Her parents and gran gran had left half an hour ago, and that was when Toph and Sokka had bright out the alcohol and the games.

Toph had come up with a term and they needed to figure out which one it was.

"So..." Sokka said. "You're not human, you aren't an alien from a film or book, nor a plant, or an animal."

Toph nodded in affirmation.

"Are you inanimate?" Katara asked, happy to be able to concentrate on her brother and friend once again.

"Yes!" Toph exclaimed. "Come on, Sugar Queen, you have to guess this one right! You can't let Sokka win!"

"Hey! Why not me?" Sokka asked with a lot of indignation.

"Because you're a bad winner," Toph said.

"Are you a rock?" Katara asked.

Toph frowned. "Not really."

"Are you made of rock?" Sokka probed.

Toph nodded.

"Oh, I know, you're a statue!" he exclaimed.

Toph grimaced. "Nope."

"Uh... a house?"

"Nope."

"Are you also made of other earthly materials than rock?" Katara asked.

Toph frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so. But guys, just because I'm inanimate doesn't mean I can't move!"

Katara only raised her eyebrows, smiling lightly, but feeling quite lost.

Sokka stroked his chin and furrowed his brows, making his "thinking-hard"-face. "Hmmm..."

"An earthquake!" Katara exclaimed.

"No!" groaned Toph.

"A rock slip!" Sokka said with utter satisfaction, thinking he guessed right.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Noooo!"

"Stop that, Toph! It's not like you picked something easy!" Sokka complained, and Katara nodded affirmatively.

"Okay, but one of you could still think unexpectedly about the right thing!" Toph huffed and crossed her arms.

"Moving earth..." Sokka thought again.

"Are you found on earth?" Katara asked, after they had thought of lava, magma, and a sandstorm.

"Normally not," Toph said grinning.

"You're a comet!" Katara cried out, just when Sokka shouted "An asteroid!"

Both looked eagerly waiting at Toph, both hoping to be the winner.

Sokka just couldn't win! Toph was right, he was a terrible winner!

Please be a comet! Please be a comet!

"Katara is right!" Toph cried and threw one fist in the air.

"Wuhoo! Yeah!" Katara cheered, dancing a bit on her spot on the couch.

"Nooooo!" Sokka cried and immediately started to argument about how his word was somehow also right.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Toph said. "You're even a worse loser than winner." She grinned evilly, while Katara tried to stifle her chuckles.

Sokka just glared at her, but drank from his drink anyway. Then he grimaced and pointed a finger at Katara. "This drinking game you came up with sucks. Everyone wants to win and it takes quite some time to actually take a sip! No one will ever get drunk with this game!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Drinking games are not about getting drunk, Sokka."

He just blinked at her, while Toph groaned.

"Let me guess, Aang had been rubbing off on you, and you think drinking games are about fun!"

Katara frowned and fought the blush on her cheeks. "That's not true," she murmured.

Toph cackled loudly, while Sokka watched Katara with a frown on his face.

She felt uneasy under his gaze, and didn't know how she liked it that Aang had had such an influence on her.

"Don't tell him that!" she quickly said.

"Why not?" Toph asked.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "He'd think he might still have a chance knowing he was a big influence on her."

Katara groaned. "Yes, that's true, but I also think drinking is for fun, so when a drinking game is for fun, then just because it's for drinking!" She huffed indignantly and raised her nose up in the air.

"That's what we want to hear!" Toph complimented her, applauding.

Sokka smiled, but looked a bit sad.

"What is it, Sokka?" Katara wanted to know.

He took a sip of his drink again. "I just wondered... when Aang can hang with us again. I mean I'm still hanging with him! But all of us together?"

Toph remained silent, while Katara fidgeted and looked at the ground.

"I miss it, too," she said.

"Okay okay!" Toph shouted. "We get it! Now stop all this sadness, and let's party again!"

Kazara and Sokka stared at her in bewilderment.

"It's not like we held one hour speeches about that," Katara argued, crossing her arms and feeling pretty annoyed now by Toph. Geez, she had only said that she missed it, but apparently the littlest bit of emotions made Toph feeling unsettled.

Sokka sighed. "Okay: truth or dare!"

"Wuuh!"

Sokka emptied a beer bottle, made "Ah!" and put it on the floor in front of him. He spun it, and Katara thought about all the questions they could ask which would be overtly embarrassing.

Truth or dare with Toph and Sokka, two people who liked to embarrass others, but hated getting embarrassed themselves, had an extra rule. If someone didn't want to answer a question or dare to do something, they could just drink a sip of something alcoholic. Toph and Sokka were both every time the most drunk people after this game.

The bottle pointed at Katara.

Oh no.

"Truth or dare, Katara?" Sokka asked, grinning evilly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Dare."

He twisted his mouth. "I dare you to call a friend and tell him or her that you don't want to be friends with them anymore."

Katara groaned again, but decided to do it. She was pretty sure that Sokka and Toph would rather drink all the time, and one of them had to stay sober to keep thinking straight.

She decided to call Jet. It wouldn't do much harm, if he thought she didn't want to be friends with him anymore.

"Hello?" he asked after the third ringing.

"Hi, this is Katara. Look, I want you to know that I don't want to be friends with you," she said sternly.

She was met with silence, and thought about ending the call, since Sokka scowled at her, saying her without words that she could not say she was only doing this for truth or dare.

"Does that mean you want to be more than friends?"

"What? No!" Katara yelped immediately, feeling shocked.

"Katara!" Sokka said warningly.

"Good. It would have been very weird you and me being together, while you're faking being Zuko's girlfriend," Jet went on, but took a breath, as if a thought had come up. "You... Do you mean you don't want to have something to do with me?"

"I don't want us to be friends," she said, feeling very uncomfortable and glaring at Sokka who was grinning now. "So bye." She ended the call and hoped she could text him later to tell him why she had told him that.

oOo

"Uh, that was Katara," Jet said from his place next to Zuko.

He raised his eyebrows. "What did she want?"

"She told me she didn't want us to be friends," Jet said, utter shock shown on his face.

For one moment Zuko felt anger rise in him, but then he just started to laugh out loud.

"What's so funny?" Jet barked.

Zuko couldn't help himself.

Katara hadn't even agreed to fake-date him yet, but she was already demanding who he could be friends with? Especially since it was now just the other way around as it had been in high school.

"I didn't do anything to offend her, did I?" Jet asked, now sounding a bit unsure.

Zuko stopped his laughter and let chuckles shake his shoulders a bit. "I don't know," he gasped.

"Would you now kindly tell me what was so funny?"

"I just thought that it was typical for Katara. You know, same thing as in highschool basically but the other way around." He shrugged, still smiling, although he knew he would have to talk to Katara about this.

Jet blinked. "Ey, she didn't say we couldn't be friends, but that she didn't want to be friends with me."

Zuko's eyes widened in understanding. Well, that was slightly better, but not better understandable.

"Well, then I guess you did something to offend her," he said, shrugging.

oOo

"Well done," Sokka applauded. "Who did you call?"

Katara huffed. As if she would tell him! "That was not part of the exercise! I don't have to tell you!"

Toph grabbed for the bottle on the floor with surprisingly good aim and shoved it in Katara's direction. "Your turn."

They play a few rounds, in which Toph and Sokka bothe don't want to answer embarrassing questions and rather drink. Katara had answered questions about her teenage years, the things she had done when she had hung out with Jet and his friends those few times, which embarrassed her quite a lot.

Toph just cackled, and while Sokka had first pressed his palms to his ears the alcohol seemed to make him forget that Katara was his sister and he was supposed to be embarrassed.

But mostly she had to do stupid things like going buy more beer, massaging Toph's shoulders and feeding Sokka with chips. At least it hadn't been anything worse.

"Truth or dare, Katara?" Toph asked.

"Truth."

"Are you currently dating someone new?"

Katara blinked. Er... Should she tell them that she was thinking about dating Zuko? Even if it was fake, which she wouldn't tell them, normally her friends were used to her talking to them about things like that. So if she resided to fake date him, then her friends should know before that she had thought about that.

She had never talked to them about every little detail, probably mostly because she didn't have a female friend who liked to talk about those things. Toph was all for independence from men and since she never told Katara anything about her struggles Katara tried to keep hers from their conversations. Aang had been something different, though.

"Not yet," she answered truthfully, very satisfied with herself at having answered the question correctly without giving anything away.

"So you got someone on your mind?" Toph probed.

"It's my turn to turn the bottle now, Toph. No more questions!" Katara demanded.

Toph's smirk should have warned her.

Next time it was Katara's turn she made the mistake at picking truth again.

"Who's that guy you are thinking about?" Sokka promptly asked, and Katara groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"No! Sokka, no. Ask something else!"

"I have made my decision, little sister," he grinned, but his speech already sounded slurry.

She lifted her head to scowl at him. Great. Leave it to Sokka to ruin her nice evening!

"I don't know if you want to know," she finally said.

"As long as it is not Haru," Toph said, while Sokka said "As long as it is not Jet."

Katara frowned at Toph. "What do you have against Haru?" she asked. "He's nice."

"Exactly."

Sokka grinned, while Katara still felt confused. "So?"

Toph rolled her eyes. "That's all he is. Nice. That's boring. "You, Katara, don't need a nice guy. You're already way too nice yourself."

"Hey, that's not even true! I can be mean!" she objected, stemming her hands on her hips. First she was accused for being mean, now for being too nice?

"Oh, really?" Toph drawled.

Sokka chuckled. "Have you forgotten how she treated Jet's friends, especially Zuko, in highschool?"

Katara blushed furiously. His name had been mentioned!

Toph frowned. "Oh yeah, I guess I really forgot. Man, you were a bitch back then!" she said to Katara.

"Gee, thanks, Toph! That's so nice of you!" she smiled through gritted teeth.

"No problem!" Toph lifted her drink in Katara's direction.

"So who's that guy now?" Sokka asked grinning, and Katara grimaced again. She had thought they had forgotten about all that other stuff!

"Yeah, don't distract us!"

Katara cringed. Oh boy, what would they say if she said the name?

"Do we know him?" Toph asked.

Katara nodded, biting her lip.

Sokka looked kind of disgusted at that thought and Toph looked confused.

"Do we really know him or is this one of those guys we saw you with only once?" Toph wanted to know.

Frowning Katara thought about guys they had only met once before. There had been Hun from the university, but she hadn't met him since months.

"Uh... You haven't just seen him with me once," she said.

Toph groaned. "Come on, Sugar Queen, we are not playing 'Guess who Katara's dating'. Just spill it!"

"I'm not dating anyone!" she exclaimed. "I'm only thinking about dating him!"

"And can you please tell us his name, dear sister?" Sokka smiled widely with closed eyes at her.

She glared at him, then sighed. "Uh... It might sound strange or crazy, but it is... Kasaishi Zuko."

Toph gasped and Sokka choked on his own saliva.

oOo

"I hope she won't be like this if we do start fake dating," Zuko sighed, leaning backwards.

Jet nodded. "Yeah, when I proposed her to be your fake girlfriend, I forgot about how nasty she can be."

Raising an eyebrow Zuko turned his head towards Jet. "I still think you did something to offend her. We are not teenagers anymore, and I don't consider her that immature."

"Well, she must be, because I didn't do anything to offend her!" Jet replied, snorting.

Zuko tried to hide his amusement, when he leaned forward again to continue to read a book about buildings and architecture. He had always liked drawing and had been interested in how the manner of building houses had changed over time. Sometimes he scribbled houses, apartment buildings, even palaces and temples on free spots of his law notes.

"I'll ask her about that," he quickly promised. "Tomorrow," he added, taking a sip of his tea.

Narrowing his eyes Jet turned the television louder.

Zuko looked at him dryly, took his book and tea, and left for his bedroom.

OoO

"Zuko?" Sokka spluttered.

Toph looked thoughtful, while Katara wished she could disappear in a hole.

"But why, how, why?" Sokka spluttered on.

Katara sighed. "Remember when we met him and Jet?"

Sokka nodded.

"Well, we stayed at the coffee shop a little longer and then we went eating dinner, and we walked a bit together, and well, we met again," she explained, feeling like a spotlight was shining on her. A very uncomfortable spotlight.

"That makes sense," Toph suddenly said.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "How does that make sense?"

"You hated him so much in high school that I couldn't take it seriously. I knew the whole time you secretly liked him," Toph declared, as if she had something to boast about.

Katara already wanted to object, when Toph just went on.

"And I know for a fact that he liked you as well!"

"He did?" Katara asked curiously, leaning forward, and noticed that her heart... was suddenly beating faster.

What? No, stop that!

She tried to calm herself by leaning back again. "I mean, uh... well, that is..." While she kept stammering Sokka seemed to have recovered, and after a large sip of his beer he sighed.

"Okay... That is... Dammit, Katara, you know who his family is, right?" he gasped. "His ancestors, he could be a prince, and his family... And our ancestors!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, one second," Katara interrupted her rambling brother. "What were you saying, Toph?"

The expression on the blind girl's face was smugger than smug. "Zuko liked you back in high school. Before you yelled at him for making Aang cry," she defined.

"Oh," Katara mumbled and looked down at her feet. Imagining Zuko liking her felt very strange to her. Because what about her would someone like him like?

She remembered the first time she had noticed him, though. It had been in her first year in high school, the only one she had known was Sokka, and she didn't have any friends there before. After her first day, which had been totally weird and frustrating, and Katara had thought about dying her hair black, ripping holes in her clothes and starting to wear make up, she had been in need of sugar. The high school had been awful, and her parents didn't see what they were doing to them by moving there. In an empty hall had been a sweets automat, in front of which a boy had been standing, hands in his pockets and head hung low. She hadn't seen him clearly, not even when she had stepped to the side to see which sweets actually were available in the automat. There she had realised that the boy in front of her had just bought the last of her favourite chocolate bars.

She couldn't help the groan-sigh which had espaces her then. The boy had turned around, looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

His hair had been a bit longer than the style all the other boys wore, but it had stopped above his eyebrows. His piercing golden eyes had made her heart stop for a second, when she thought she looked into a dragon's eye, and his face... Her heart had started beating even faster. He was one of the most handsome boys she had ever seen, and so interesting with his pale skin and raven black hair.

He turned around again, picking his chocolate bar from the automat, throwing her a sideway glance, and walking away.

She had stood there, staring after him, her heart beating fast, until she had finally bought something else from the automat. This should have been a warning to her. He hadn't shared his chocolate bar then, and later she had noticed that he was just an idiot, and that nobody liked him.

How was it possible that he had liked her then? This couldn't be!

"But he hadn't behaved any better!" Katara huffed, crossing her arms again and putting her nose in the air. "I don't believe he liked me, or he hadn't been such an idiot!"

"Well, he was shy," Toph explained.

Sokka started chuckling, but Katara could tell that her brother had just started getting drunk. He would chuckle now a lot more.

"But how do you know that?" Katara asked.

"Well, we talked once, and I told him he shouldn't take you seriously, because you were mean to him then, and I told him that you were even nice once one got to meet you, and he just nodded and said that he knew your other sides, and that he even liked how you were."

"And you remember this that well?" Sokka giggled.

Toph made a shut up hand gesture in his direction. "Shush."

Katara rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean at all that he was into me."

"And I never said that."

Katara rolled her eyes at Toph's grin. "Well, either way. We are okay with each other now. I don't think he's an idiot anymore, and he asked for a date, but... I mean, what Sokka said. His family. His father's running for president!" she shrieked, tugging at her hair, letting out a bit of desperation and frustration. "I can't just accept that. It feels like betraying my ancestors, my culture, my home, and what if his father is an asshole?"

"Presidents tend to be that," Sokka agreed, causing Katara to roll her eyes.

"But he's not president yet, Sokka!"

"Man, Katara! This is messed up," Toph said dryly.

"I know!"

"I wish I could tell you that it doesn't matter, because you're going to be with Zuko, and not his family, but I don't think that you wouldn't meet them at one point," Toph stroked her chin.

Now Katara just stared at the floor. Yeah, she couldn't exactly do anything with their advices since there was more to the situation. Way more!

"But you like him, right?"

Katara nodded and quickly added "Yes, I do". It was funny realising that this was really true. She had liked him before he had told her about this stupid plan of his father's, and even now, when she thought about the two times she had spent time with him lately, she still liked him.

"Then you should definitely try it."

"I don't know," Sokk interjected. "I still think he's a jerk."

"No one asked you, Snoozles."

* * *

_**Answers to reviews:**_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: __Yep, it really was! Oh, okay, well the author should become one then!_

_To _BumiCat_: Thank you! I'm glad, too, although I still cough once in a while. It won't leave me alone!D:_

_To _Smckoy929_: Thanks, well here it is! Not much happening, but I wanted a bit more Toph and Sokka, and because I'm the author I did just that, haha! :D  
_


	12. Chapter 11

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender or its charcters._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Zuko had only agreed to do this, because he knew this way he would not have a lot of time to think about what Katara and his father could be talking about.

Ozai had given him the date of his next free evening, and had told him to invite Katara to his father's house. This was not how he had imagined things would go. He had thought Ozai would meet Katara in a restaurant, a public place, but maybe it wouldn't do his father's reputation any good to be seen with a young pretty woman in public.

Still, Katara at his father's house? Where he had lived for the first thirteen years of his life? It felt unreal and very bizarre to him.

He knew that staying at home would only give him the time and space to think too much about his father and Katara, and that's why he was at the cinema with Jet. Some film about a famous band had come out, and Jet had immediately wanted to go see it. It's not like it didn't interest Zuko, but he was mostly just glad to be distracted for the evening.

After getting fireflakes and popcorn the two young men walked on to the cinema hall, Zuko half listening to Jet talking about the apartment he had been ordered to sell. Pressing his eyes together he tried to concentrate more on his friend, listening to him.

"They think they can put me in my place for speaking up this one time," Jet went on, sounding a bit full of himself, "but I'll show them. I will sell this lousy shit of an apartment within three months!"

Frowning Zuko looked at his friend. "I would be more careful if I were you. If you don't sell it you might not get the opportunity to get a job there later, and if you hadn't spoken up, you wouldn't have to sell this. So don't speak up anymore."

Jet only rolled his eyes and shrugged. "It's not like they did something to punish me severely. I only think that I have to sell that apartment because of that, but I'm not sure. Getting punished for speaking up is really a lot too harsh," he added, his voice full of amused laughter, but filling Zuko with horror from the tips of his toes to his scalp.

Not everywhere, Jet.

Some people might think that he would deserve a punishment, a very severe one.

Hopefully Katara didn't say anything bad or inappropriate to his father.

Suddenly he flinched and felt as if he could have slapped himself. How could he have been so stupid? Although Zuko knew his father was different now, and they had a good relationship, he still shouldn't have Katara let him meet. Ozai looked down on Southerners, and Zuko could imagine that Katara, noticing this, would have one or two things to say about it, things which wouldn't please his father.

Jet stared at him worryingly, and Zuko noticed that he had made a strange noise in the back of his throat. Shaking his head he tried not to let it get to him. No, Katara was fine, and his father was a good man, he wouldn't do anything to Katara, right?

oOo

To Katara's upmost surprise it was Kasaishi Ozai who opened the door for her. She had actually expected servants leading her to a living room, in which Ozai would sit on a large armchair, announcing her presence.

Well, that was stupid. Kasaishi was only a businessman, no noble or governmental important figure. Although his house did look like a palace to Katara.

It was very much in the geographical centre of the city, near the old palace, and it looked like it could have actually belonged to the royal family back then. Two stories high, made of red painted sandstone with columns, which were circled by dragon carvings. A symbol of the sun was carved into the big heavy door of cherry wood. The window frames were made of dark wood, and the roof, crested with mythological figures, was painted in a light red.

Huh, it did seem very royal to her, and exactly as if Kasaishi still held onto the beliefs of his ancestors, when it was so full of old royal symbols.

It made her shudder. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea asking Zuko to arrange this. She should have brought someone with her. Maybe even Zuko would have been enough.

For a brief second Katara had the stupid image of herself being confined in the basement of this house, and given the same torture her ancestors had to endure.

But now that Kasaishi had opened the door it was probably way too late, anyway.

Katara had to blink, because at first, she thought it was Zuko standing in front of her. Only broader, older, and with a beard.

"Katara! What a pleasure to meet you!" Kasaishi extended his lower arm to her, as was the traditional greeting in the southern province, which surprised Katara a lot.

She has actually wanted to bow to him like they did here, but she grasped his lower arm, shaking it, smiling. "The pleasure is mine, Kasaishi!"

"Please, call me Ozai," he said, still smiling warmly. His voice was a bit raspy like Zuko's, but deeper, not only in pitch. It sounded as if his voice came from deep inside of his belly.

She had so not expected that.

Apart from the combed back hair, which she had already found completely stupid on Zuko, and the white button-down shirt tugged in dress pants, he did seem nice.

"O-okay, Ozai," she stammered.

His smile widened, as if he found her funny, and stepped back to let her into the house.

Swallowing and still smiling nervously she stepped in, looking around with wonder in her eyes.

There was an entrance hall, not a hallway, no, an entrance _hall_. It was probably larger than Katara's apartment, no, wait, definitely larger than her apartment. Blinking she tried not to let Ozai see her astonishment. She didn't want him to think she was just a stupid backwater peasant.

The hall was lit with lamps embedded in the ceiling or the walls. There was no great chandelier formed like a flame, like she had expected. The walls were natural sandstone and the floor was made of dark wood. Plants and flowers stood at the walls, in corners, and on tables, giving the room more colour. In the middle of the entrance hall stood a table, even darker than the floor, a red cloth on it and a golden vase with blood red fire lilies.

Katara's eyes widened. Phew, this cried royalist!

The flag of Elementia had had many different designs, and every province had its own, but what they all had in common was the red background. The western province's flag was a golden sun on red background, reminding of the days of the Sun Warriors, when there had been a political system reminding of democracy to show the difference to the era of the Kasaishi Emperors. The Southern Province's flag showed blue waves on top of the red background. The Northern province had a light blue single crescent moon, the Eastern Province's flag showed a brown circle with a hole in the shape of a square in the middle, and the flag of the mountains showed a mythical creature named airbison. The old flag of Elementia had shown a burning dragon on the red background. The flag had stayed the same for hundreds of years, when people had still believed that there were dragons, and they needed to kill them. The dragon was shown in black, and the fire in golden, colours of the old Empire of Kasai, which was how Elementia had been called before the revolution. Nowadays the flag showed a mythical creature named lion turtle. It was the only myth the four provinces had in common, and so it had been decided on that.

But the colours of the old flag of Elementia were pretty much omnipresent in the hall, which Katara noticed with grand discomfort.

Ozai gestured to a wardrobe at the side. "Please, let me take off your coat."

Blinking Katara tried to smile again. "Th- uh, thank you," she stammered, opening the buttons, feeling how he pulled it down her shoulders.

This was the closest she would ever tolerate getting to this man.

He hung her coat into the wardrobe, turned and smiled at her.

Katara wore jeans, boots and a blue hoodie, her hair was done in a messy bun. This guy should not think that she was dressing up for someone like him. Just because he lived in this fancy mansion didn't mean that she would change herself. Although she liked wearing skirts and blouses, she had thought that this outfit would underline her position in a better way.

"We will have dinner in the dining room," Ozai told her, motioning for her to follow him to the right wing of the house. "I know you wanted to talk to me alone, but it won't bother you that my wife will eat with us, will it?"

His wife. Zuko's mother. She wondered what kind of person that would be? Would she now have to face two dragons instead of one? Or would Zuko's mother be nice? After all, Zuko had had to learn his manners somewhere. And she was sure the academy hadn't taught him everything.

As much as she was curious to get to know Ozai's wife, she also felt unsure about it. Maybe it would be easier for him to behave in a friendly way with his wife around, and she would come out of this having a way too positive impression of him.

"I..." she started hesitantly.

Ozai smiled amusedly. "Don't worry, you'll be able to talk to me alone after dinner. Then you can see that I won't ever raid the south."

Katara grimaced. "You must think I'm stupid."

Ozai shook his head. "No, I don't. Zuko explained the situation to me, and I can fully understand why you would hesitate to become a part of this family."

Katara gulped, following him through the arch which led into the dining room. "Part of your family? What, I mean... Zuko and I would only go out on dates, not getting married!" she exclaimed quickly, blushing furiously. It was a good thing that she was blushing, since Ozai should think she really had feelings for Zuko, but this was just crazy. How could he even be a good father, if he wanted Zuko to find a girlfriend just for his election? How could she even think that he would be a good president?

Ozai's eyes widened in shock, and then he started to laugh. It was a quiet laugh, almost a chuckle, as he held his hands up apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just that we consider partners of our children as family, too."

The dining room was probably as large as Katara's apartment. And besides a table, chairs and one cabinet for dishes, nothing was occupying this room. The walls had a light orange colour, making the room seem nice and warm. Plants stood on the windowsill and fire lilies in a vase on the table.

"Of course we do!" a cheerful voice sounded from another arch to Katara's right.

Since the woman who came out of it carried a pot in her hands, Katara assumed it lead to the kitchen.

Katara knew in an instant that this woman was much more a bear than a dragon. The woman's smile was warm, shining in her eyes, as she walked over to her and hugged her.

"It's so great to finally meet you, Katara!" she exclaimed, grasping her upper arms. "My name is Ursa, I'm Zuko's mother."

Katara would have thought so. Azula looked as much like her mother as Zuko resembled his father. Until now they seemed like a great family. But this could all be a facade. Katara had to stay wary.

That proved to be very difficult, given how friendly Ursa was, and how she and Ozai seemed to be genuinely interested in her life.

Sometimes they would even tease each other, and then Ozai would always give Ursa a warm look.

Katara didn't pay much attention to Ursa, since she was already sure that this woman was a good one. Ozai was much more difficult. He seemed to be nice, too, very charming and polite, friendly even. He complimented her on her studies and even asked about the life in the south. When she told him how little technology they had had in her village she observed him sharply, wanting to be able to see disgust or contempt, but he only looked a bit shocked and surprised. He even started talking about how much the technological devices in his life started to annoy him. Ursa pointed out that it must have been a very healthy environment for children to grow up, and Ozai agreed.

This was so confusing. There was something about Ozai that still made her skin crawl, made her fidget with unease and want to hide under a table, but he was a good man. Maybe it were his eyes. They were just as golden as Zuko's, the same pale colour, but somehow they felt different. Maybe they were wiser and older. Katara couldn't put her finger on it, but some part of her didn't buy the loving husband from Ozai.

What Katara felt very relieved about was the fact that neither of them seemed to want to talk about Zuko. They didn't ask how they met, and how much she liked him, and if she could see herself with him in three years, and all those things her parents had asked Aang, when they had just started dating.

Thinking about him she felt shortly sad, but managed to concentrate again on her task.

After dessert Ursa asked Katara if she wanted to have a tea or coffee.

Frowning she bit on her lower lip. "I really don't need anything else, thank you. It was all very delicious."

"I'm not asking you to eat more!" Ursa laughed. "Come on, it's good for digestion."

Katara relented, smiling. "Okay, then I would like to have a tea, if that's not too much to ask."

"Of course not, Katara," Ursa replied, standing up and cleaning her hands with a napkin. "Can I get you something, too?" she asked Ozai, who nodded, smiling.

"A coffee please, honey."

Ursa's smile widened. "Why did I even ask?" she laughed, heading for the kitchen.

Ozai was still watching her, smiling, when Katara gathered all her courage. Now or never. He already managed to impress her with his loving husband attitude. _Don't let yourself get bought so easily, Katara! _

So she cleared her throat. "Uh, can I ask you anything later?"

Smiling Ozai nodded. "Of course. My son seems to like you very much, so I want you to feel comfortable with his family."

Katara let a smile tug on her lips, hearing that Zuko seemed to like her pretty much. That was definitely a lie, since Ozai thought Zuko was just pretending. Why should Zuko tell his father he liked her, if he just pretended? That didn't make sense.

Apart from the lying about their relationship, and the fact that Ozai had wanted Zuko to get such a girlfriend, he seemed like a good man.

So now, onto the heavy questions!

oOo

Unfortunately, the film about the band showed how the pianist had been beaten by his father as a child, vaulting Zuko right back into his own childhood.

He tried to fight the uneasy prickle in his neck, tried to calm his heart, and to ignore the sweat on his forehead. Suddenly feeling very cold he clenched his fingers around the armrest, pushing away the thoughts about his father scaring or hurting Katara.

"Hey..." Jet murmured in his ear, leaning closer. "Are you okay? You don't look well."

"I fear I made a mistake," Zuko whispered. "I've gotta go. Stay here, watch the film, I'll be back to pick you up later."

Taking a deep breath he jumped up, finding his way between legs and seat rests.

Jet opened his mouth, frowning, then hissing in alarm. "Zuko!? Where are you going?! Wait!"

Zuko turned around. "No, just stay here!" he snarled quietly.

"Ey, move out of the scene!" a man in front of Zuko swore.

He quickly turned away, walking out of the hall. No matter what, he had to get to his car, as fast as possible.

"Zuko!" he heard Jet shouting behind him.

"Go back inside!" Zuko barked, not even looking at him.

"No, where are you going?"

"My father..."

Jet groaned, and Zuko heard the smack of a hand to a forehead. "The company again?"

Zuko didn't answer, but kept walking.

He knew Jet would let it be now. Zuko was often in distress, when he had to do something for the company, and that could explain his behaviour now quite well.

"Alright, but come back here, when you're finished, daddy's bitch, okay?"

After hearing it for more than seven months now, Zuko had developed quite the indifference towards that insult. Besides, Jet once said he insulted him to show him that he liked him. Strangest concept of all, but according to Jet all guys were doing that in friendships.

"Whatever, asshole," he replied and exited the cinema through the large glass doors.

Once he was outside he all but sprinted to his car, since he couldn't get to Katara fast enough.

The way to his father's house was familiar, but pretty occupied at that time. Many red traffic lights, slow cars in front of him, and idiots ignoring his right of way.

Honking and screaming in rage, he was quite out of breath, when he finally left the larger streets, turning into a quieter and very rich neighbourhood with big properties.

Zuko felt conflicted. One part of him was telling him that he was being stupid, while the other one just screamed for him to drive faster.

_Father isn't like that anymore. Father isn't like that anymore! Father isn't like that anymore!_

oOo

"What do you think of Mountainers and Southerners?" Katara asked, coming straight to the point.

Raising his eyebrows a little bit Ozai leaned back in his chair. "I believe they are very strong people. After what happened to them they simply kept on living, rebuilding their culture. And most importantly, they didn't search for a violent solution. I respect that."

They were sitting in Ozai's office on a small table, drinking the hot beverages Ursa had brought them.

The office's walls were painted in a deep red, and almost all the furniture was black or in a dark brown. The floor was made of wood, but much lighter than the one in the entrance hall. With the golden light shining above them Katara wondered if that's what being in a Kasaishi Emperor's office had felt like.

Frowning Katara shook her head. "No, I mean, what do you think of them now?"

"I'm afraid I've never been to these provinces, so I don't know a lot about them, apart from economic and political things. The South seems to be very determined to be as independent as they can, while they also keep up a very confident and proud image. I think they are wary of the western province. After all, history isn't easily forgotten," he told her sternly, looking sad and thoughtful at the same time.

"And the Mountainers?"

"They are very admirable. How peaceful and soft they always are." Ozai chuckled to himself. "I once wanted to buy a bit of land there, but while being very polite and calm they always declined my offer, even when I provoked them. One of them then explained their culture a bit better to me, why they didn't get angry and always stayed calm." He touched his chin thoughtfully. "It took some time for me to understand them, though."

Huh, he must be honest. If he only wanted to seem good to her he wouldn't admit something like that to her.

"And why do you want to become president?"

Blinking Ozai smiled in a forced way. "Well, that's a question I've been hearing nonstop lately."

Katara immediately got a bad conscience. "Oh, I'm so sorry, it's just..."

"No, it's fine. I, uh, wanted to do something good for my country. I spent my years making one business after another, while I saw many people suffering from above." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've tried to do a lot of good, but the economy is not everything. There are also lots of laws still favouring people with money or influence, just as the people in the council are such."

Katara only raised an eyebrow. "And you aren't?"

Ozai chuckled. "No, of course I am. But I haven't always been. I know how it is to have little, to struggle to pay the rent, and not to be able to do everything I want."

"So you really only want to make Elementia better?" Katara asked, not sounding convinced.

Ozai's smile seemed tired. "Yep. Pretty hard to wrap your head around it, isn't it?"

"N-n-no!" she stammered, holding her hands up in defence.

Ozai laughed. "You would probably rather believe me, if I told you that I want to change the laws and make myself a Kasaishi Emperor, too, wouldn't you?"

Blinking Katara unwillingly started to laugh, too. "No! I really would not have thought that! That's extremely crazy!"

Ozai chuckled again, then he sighed. "Yeah, well, I knew it wouldn't be easy to convince the people that I only want their best, given my family's history. But I'm trying my best, I'm actually quite a bit desperate, because I know I don't look like a good and nice president." He shrugged smiling.

"I guess after what happened in the USA no one really wants a businessman as their president," Katara said, cringing, causing Ozai to laugh again.

"Well, I don't have any intention to build a wall," he chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee.

"That's what they said in East Germany said, too." Smiling slightly Katara reached for her cup of jasmine tea.

Grinning Ozai snorted. "You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"Hey, I want to become a lawyer. I always need arguments," she defended herself, feeling great relief that Ozai actually seemed to be really the man Zuko had described. It was very easy to talk to him, and now he didn't seem so intimidating anymore.

"You'll make a great lawyer, I can assure you that, Katara! I've already dealt with far too many of them, and you got me there!" Shaking his head, his smile widened.

"Thank you." She nervously touched her necklace. "I'm really sorry about judging you so quickly. Zuko already told me I had prejudices. I didn't want to listen to him, but I guess he was right. I'm very glad that you are just like he described you to me."

"It's okay," Ozai said. "I'm used to dealing with prejudices quite a lot. I'm just glad that I'm not standing between you and Zuko."

Katara forced herself to smile. Riiight.

Dammit, would she now really do this? She had told Zuko she wanted to meet his father first, see if he was a good person. He seemed alright. So... That meant that she would agree to getting paid for pretending to be Zuko's girlfriend. She just wanted to hide her face in her hands, moaning in a self-pitying way to herself.

Biting on her lip she looked down on her hands. "It's not like you were standing between us. I was. But I'm ready now to..."

A loud ringing sound shrilled through the room, making Ozai sitting straight. "Hm, that was the bell. I wonder who'll be there."

Katara nodded. "It's okay. You can go. Actually, I think it's time I'll go now, too."

"Should I get a taxi for you?" Ozai asked, while he was rising from his chair.

Standing up, Katara shook her head. "No, thank you! I'll take the bus, I'm fine, thanks."

Instead of shaking her hand Ozai hugged her, surprising her once more.

"It was great meeting you, Katara," he said.

Smiling she declined her head in respect a bit. "Thanks. You, too."

Ozai walked to the entrance door, while Katara stayed in the entrance hall, gathering her coat and bag from the cupboard.

She could hear muffled voices from the door, but since she didn't want to listen in, she allowed herself to panic a bit about going to be Zuko's fake girlfriend. That was still so wrong, but... Her rent needed to be payed, after all.

Fully dressed she slowly made her way to the door, waiting until Ozai would have a free moment to bid him goodbye. She tried not to attract any attention, and looked around the room again.

"Katara!"

Her head snapped to the door, eyes widening, when she saw Zuko standing there. Blinking at first, she then frowned. "Zuko. What are you doing here?"

Zuko looked stressed, his hair was a bit dishevelled, not every strand was combed back, and his cheeks were slightly flushed. "I, uh, came to pick you up, drive you home." He bit on his lower lip, standing incredibly stiff.

It confused Katara, and she looked at Ozai, wanting to see how he reacted to this.

Zuko's father had a curious expression on his face, but there was something else in his eyes, when he looked at his son.

It surprised Katara that Zuko had even come here to pick her up. They hadn't talked about that, and she had thought that she would just call him tomorrow, and tell him how it went. Was he here to make his father think even more that they had a real relationship?

Either way, she found it very sweet of him, and a smile spread on her lips. "Oh, you could have told me, you know," she said, walking up to him.

He swallowed. "Sorry. I..."

She chuckled. Why was he so nervous? "No, it's okay. Thank you for coming." She smiled up at him, trying to look as if she had feelings for him. Following an idea she stepped closer to him, taking his hand.

His eyes widened a little bit, and she kept smiling at him, commanding him in her head to relax. After a few seconds he did and smiled back.

"Thanks again for having me," Katara said, turning towards Ozai.

He smiled. "No problem. I hope it helped."

"It did, and please tell Ursa that the food was delicious," Katara went on. "You were both very friendly to me, thank you." This time he let her bow.

Ozai inclined his head. "You're very welcome. I hope we'll see you more often from now on."

Katara nodded. "Yes."

"Drive safely, Zuko."

"Of course, Father," Zuko replied, his voice sounding strangely hollow. "Say hi to Mum from me."

Smiling Ozai nodded, and Katara and Zuko stepped out of the door, walking down the few stairs to the road. In front of the front door of the Kasaishi mansion was a roundabout, reminding Katara of the driveway to expensive hotels.

A black BMW Coupé stood on the side of the street.

Katara raised her brows. This car was so fitting. It was limousine shaped, like almost 90 percent of the cars in this city, but it still looked sportive and young.

"Did your Dad buy you that car?" she asked.

Zuko hummed affirmatively and opened the door for her.

"Thanks," she said and lowered herself into the car. She practically sank into the seat, and tried to adjust it to her height. It was probably programmed to fit Jet. It still smelled like a new car in here, and she was a bit overwhelmed by all these polished blinking high tech buttons and screens. What did Zuko need these things for?

He climbed in, watching her with a frown, looking concentrated.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What?"

"You're okay?" It sounded unsure and doubtfully at the same time.

Returning a frown of her own, she wondered what he was thinking. "Yeah, why?"

His eyes widened immediately, as if he hadn't expected her to ask that. "Uh, just, because... I was worried if you two would get along. You know, 'cause..."

Twisting her mouth, she sent him a glare and folded her arms under her breasts. "You didn't think I would behave, did you?"

Blinking Zuko let out a little laugh, sounding way too high to be honest. "What? No..."

Katara just rolled her eyes. He was such a terrible liar. But it made him more likeable in her opinion.

Zuko cut the engine, making the car growling, and jazz music came from the radio.

Surprise filled her at the sound of the music. He liked jazz? She would have never thought that of him.

And it wasn't this light jazz which was played as background music for events or at restaurants, where she guessed Zuko had heard it plenty of times. No, it was loud, powerful, full of energy and happiness.

Driving around the roundabout he cast a quick glance at her. "Uh, I can change the station, if you'd rather hear something else."

"No, no!" She quickly shook her head. "It just surprised me that you listen to jazz, that's all."

"What did you think what music I'd listen to?"

"Charts, probably. Maybe techno, and classical? Probably pop rock, but that's as far as I would have expected you from mainstream," Katara told him.

He let out an offended snort. "I hate techno music. And I don't listen to charts music, either. And I don't care if something is mainstream or not."

Katara felt again very surprised. "Huh, I guess I'll have a lot to learn about you to make this work."

She saw him flinch and frown again.

"Do you mean... Have you decided on it already?"

She leaned back in her seat, noticing that it was getting warmer in the car. "Yeah. Your father seems nice, and like a good man. I still think it's shitty what he wanted you to do for his campaign, but I can also understand it. It's true that the lower class people don't like him. They feel suspicious of all rich people, but of Kasaishis even more."

"That's great! I mean, thank you. You're doing me a big favour."

Katara chuckled. "I think you're exaggerating a bit. But seriously, let's meet this weekend, or next week, to get to know each other better. If I have to convince your family that I'm totally into you and you have to do the same thing with my family, then we should really know more about each other."

Zuko nodded. "Yep. That's a good idea. We also still have to talk about your salary."

"True. I haven't thought about that yet." Looking out of the window she was again amazed by how ridiculously large the houses here were. "Why did you come to pick me up?" She didn't know why she wanted to know this, but she didn't like her assumptions one bit.

When he didn't answer immediately, she turned around to look at him questioningly.

He seemed tense, his jaw clenched, and his finger knuckles were almost white. "Just to... I wanted to make sure that you two got along."

Katara didn't know what to do with that answer. Had he not trusted her? "You know, I guess it even convinced your father more that we are dating."

Zuko hummed again, his gaze fixed on the street.

Frowning Katara wondered what had made him so pensive, but she didn't want to bother him. So she sighed, stared out of the window, and dwelled on her own thoughts.

* * *

_Again a reminder as to why Ozai seems so friendly: He is a genius actor.  
_

_And in this AU Ozai and Ursa did actually marry, because they were in love, and even if Ursa wanted to leave Ozai before to go see Zuko, while he was in high school, it's not like that anymore. Ursa fears Ozai, deep down, but she tries to convince herself that he has changed for the better again. Now, he accepts his son, and that is all Ursa ever wanted. She doesn't want to endanger this situation, and Ozai clearly does something to make Ursa think he has chenged, too. After all, for the campaign a good family image will do wonders, right?_

_I also wanted to say something about Katara's character, because I noticed that she's a bit different from canon. I obviously exaggerated her ability to hold grudges, since she couldn't connect her anger at Zuko also to the death of her mother, since Kya is alive in this AU. But let's be honest: A lot of people never have anything to do with other people at their school, are only observing them from far away, but still can't stand them. Besides, I don't think Katara gifts second chances to anyone easily. Aang does, but Katara was also wary of Jet, when he showed up in book two again. He only earned her forgiveness by dying, so I don't think it's that unrealistic that Katara couldn't stand Zuko for all these years. It would be if they had travelled around with the gaang during all these years, but high school is slightly different from that. _

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _Smckoy929_: Well, here it is! After a month of waiting, hehe... I hope you like it, it wasn't easy writing Katara and Ozai together, since these are normally characters I would want to keep away from each other as far as possible. _


	13. Chapter 12

_Hi everyone! _

_I hope you all had a merry Christmas, or just lovely holidays, or simply a good time, or a happy whatever you were celebrating:) And to all a happy new year! _

_Here's the next chapter, the first of 2020, which starts where the last one ended. Zuko just picked up Katara, and now he's driving her home._

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Katara leaned against the car door, her eyes looking at nothing particular. She barely recognised the part of the city they were driving though, not really seeing the large, impressive, important buildings.

She was already thinking about everything she would have to do in order to convince people to be Zuko's girlfriend. They would have to talk about a way they would present themselves as a couple, they would have to take selfies for social media, and gift each other things. And Katara would have to think about what to tell her family.

"Shit," Zuko murmured.

She turned around to look at him. "What is it?"

He kept staring at the street, his hands tight around the steering wheel. "It's just very late, and I… I'm sorry, but would you mind if we go downtown first?"

"Uh…"

"I left Jet at the cinema, and since we came there together, I wanted to pick him up again," he quickly explained.

Katara raised her eyebrow. "You like the films Jet likes?"

"Urgh, no. But I didn't have anything to do, and it wasn't that bad. But then I… I remembered to do something," he said quietly. "And I left, and then I went to pick you up, and yeah…"

Not feeling entirely convinced Katara leaned back in and shrugged. "Sure, if you think that's what you need to do. I don't mind."

"It's not that I need to. But I wouldn't be a good friend, if I would just let him stand there, would I?" Zuko shot back, seeming to be a bit offended.

Katara noticed that it would be very easy to tease him, and couldn't help the evil grin which spread on her lips. "Well, if I were you I would ask myself if that's all Jet is to you."

"What do you mean?" A confused frown had settled on his brow, but before Katara could answer Zuko nodded. "No, I know. You're right. In some cases I'm closer to him than to my family. We're kind of like brothers."

Katara blinks, staring. Wow, she would not have accepted this answer. Brothers? That close?

"How come?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Well, I've been around him for almost four years now, and we were friends before. He also does a lot of stupid things, because he thinks they're _fun_. In the end, I mostly have to get him out of those things. I guess I'd be the big brother," he mused.

"But if you're so close, wouldn't you be able to simply ditch him? He would forgive you," said Katara hesitantly, still studying his face.

He grimaced. "Probably. But I wouldn't do that. If you're not okay with it, I can drive you home, and just text him to wait," he proposed.

She shook her head. Frowning she thought that she really didn't want to get between these two, just because driving downtown was a detour for her. And she didn't have a problem with jet being Zuko's best friend. "No, it's okay."

"Really? I thought you didn't like him anymore."

Frowning she leaned back in her seat. "Why would I?"

"You told him."

Oh yeah. That stupid game her brother had forced on her. She totally forgot to call him later to explain how the situation had been to him. Katara groaned in annoyance, smacking her palm to her forehead. "Oh no! I didn't tell him I didn't mean it!"

"So why did you tell him then?" Zuko asked, leaving the highway.

"Uh… That was because of Sokka. We were playing truth or dare, and he dared me to call someone and tell them I didn't want to be friends anymore," she explained sheepishly. Oh man, how could she have forgotten to tell him she didn't mean it? Jet and Zuko must think she was a horrible person.

"Uh-huh," was his reply.

Oh no. "Hey, I wouldn't do that in reality. I mean, ending a friendship over the phone. And I really don't have anything against Jet. I'm sorry if you thought I didn't like him anymore."

"Honestly, I was a bit amused." There was a grin in his voice, and her head whipped around so she could look at him.

"What?" Had she heard correctly?

"It just reminded me of how you treated me in high school."

Her eyes almost fell out of her head. Was he being serious? "And you found that amusing?"

"Kind of." He shrugged, and grimaces a moment later. "I would have asked you about it, what I just did, but the moment Jet told me what you had said to him, I had to laugh."

Confused was probably understating the feeling Katara felt. What on Earth had made Zuko laugh at that? What strange humour did this boy have?

Katara would have been furious, if someone would have rejected one of her friends, and Zuko still had been so nice to her. That didn't make sense, but then again, she already had thought he might not be a good friend.

"Okay. So you're a too good friend to let Jet wait at the cinema, but you laugh at someone rejecting him?" she asked, an accusing tone very evident in her voice.

"Uh… Yeah? I mean, it was just so typical for you, I guess. And honestly, if you really had decided not to want to be friends with him anymore, I wouldn't be able to hinder you from it. You seem to be stubborn, when you don't like someone." His tone sounded nonchalant again.

"I'm not!" she defended herself.

He shortly looked at her, raising one eyebrow. "You didn't even talk to me in high school."

Katara opened her mouth, but… he was right. "That's because you were a jerk!"

He only rolled his eyes. "Can we please not talk about Jet anymore?"

"Fine."

They talked about nothing else, until they arrived at the cinema.

Jet was already standing outside, shivering, and scowling. First, he wanted to climb into the car on the passenger seat, but when he noticed Katara, his face fell, and he quickly got in on the backseat. "Woah, Katara. I wouldn't have guessed that." He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey! I'm sorry for telling you I didn't want us to be friends, that was only a dare from truth or dare, I don't have anything against you!" she quickly blurted, turning around to look at him. Well, maybe except for him being a lying ass, and having chosen Zuko's and Azula's friendship over her love at high school. But since she was over that, she simply didn't trust him.

He blinked a few times, then shrugged. "Alright. That's okay. I'm glad you didn't mean it." He offered her a smile, which she returned.

It was typical of him just to accept her apology like this and act as if nothing had happened. Sometimes she wished her mind would work that easily, too.

Turning back to look through the front window she shot a glance at Zuko, who seemed very calm, just starting driving again.

"But, Zuko," started Jet, "I thought you had something to do for the company, and now you show up with Katara?"

She looked back at Zuko, who suddenly seemed a bit tense. She narrowed her eyes, wanting to be able to see everything of his reaction.

"Yes. I did both. I just needed to bring something to my father, and since Katara was there, talking to him, I offered her a ride," he explained.

Oh. So he hadn't really wanted to pick her up. It had just been convenient.

Not that it mattered anyhow. He shouldn't have picked her up in the first place, which hadn't bothered her then. But now, that he had… She wanted it to be because of her.

Frowning she wondered why she felt like this.

"Ah, sure," Jet drawled, as if he didn't believe Zuko, who only tensed more.

"Uh, yes," he finally murmured, his gaze held stoically out of the front window.

Katara knew she could tease him enough to make him say what she wanted to hear. That he had picked her up, because of her. Not because he had been there, anyway, not because it had been convenient.

But she let it be.

She also didn't want to behave like that. Besides, she didn't need anything from Zuko except for his money. And maybe they could become friends, but until then she was only something like an employee to him. Plus, she hadn't actually needed a ride, since there was a bus route leaving at the old palace, which would have only taken her fifteen minutes to walk there. Then she could have taken the underground, once she would have been in the city centre.

It would have been totally possible for her to go home by herself!

"Uh, Zuko?" she asked after a while, when she had noticed he was nearing the campus. "Do you know where to go?" She was pretty sure she hadn't told him where she lived.

Sitting straight he gasped. "No! No, I do _not_ know where you live!" His eyes were super strangely wide, and his lips pressed tightly together.

Katara frowned at his suspicious reaction. "But you're going the right way."

"Er… You said you lived in a dormitory, so I figured campus, you know?" he rambled, his voice higher than normal, while his knuckles turned white from the force with which he held on to the steering wheel.

"Oh," she answered. Yes, that seemed logical. Although his behaviour was still a bit… off. "Erm, yep. It's on the campus. You can just stop at the gate, if you don't mind."

"No, no, I don't mind. S-sure thing," Zuko replied.

"Did you make up your mind yet?" Jet suddenly asked, leaning forward between driver and passenger seat.

Katara raised an eyebrow, turning left to look at him. "Hm?"

"About being Zuko's fake girlfriend? The reason he freaked out over every little thing in the last weeks? The only thing he seemed to be able to think and talk about?"

"It's a lot of pressure," Zuko murmured, looking at Katara apologetically, as if he was defending himself.

Deciding not to continue this conversation in this direction she simply nodded. "Yes. I have decided. I'm going to give it a try. I mean, I need to pay my rent, and if I would have a job, I wouldn't do it, but… Guess, Zuko was lucky here." She shortly glanced at him, hoping to see him smile, but he still kept staring straight ahead. Was it really so difficult for him to relax?

She looked back at Jet. "Is he always like that?"

"Worse."

"Aw man! Seriously? I agreed to become the fake girlfriend of some tense stick-in-his-ass guy?" she whined sarcastically.

Jet let a bark of laughter escape him, but Zuko didn't reply at all.

Had he really taken that seriously? "Hey," Katara nudged him in the arm. "I didn't mean that, you know."

He only nodded.

"I said it because it's funny," she explained further, wondering if Zuko had any knowledge of social interacting.

"Yeah, got it," he rasped, sounding as if he didn't bother at all.

This answer did not satisfy Katara, but she let it be. She was not a persistent and annoying person, after all.

Saying goodbye to him at the gate felt awkward, maybe also because of Jet's presence, who immediately climbed on to the passengers' seat.

Zuko's facial expression seemed a bit pained, as he nodded to her, saying good night.

The moment had only been very short, so she wasn't sure about what she had seen, since his car drove away almost in that moment.

Hugging herself against the cool night air she watched them leave, wondering why Zuko had suddenly become so quiet and distanced. Had she said something which had come out the wrong way? Or was it just his own problem?

Either way, she hoped he wouldn't be like this a lot, when they would start fake dating.

oOo

It would be alright.

Yeah, nothing to worry about.

Why had she even forgot the stupid coffee machine? Aang didn't drink coffee, and Katara had hoped he wouldn't notice that she forgot it in their – no, his apartment.

The last weeks hadn't been easy without coffee, but she had made it work nonetheless. Black tea, milk tea, and hot chocolate had made up for the loss of the coffee machine.

It had been overly childish to pretend that she hadn't forgotten it there, but she also hadn't wanted to see or talk to Aang. Not when, according to Sokka, he was still not over her. But now he had texted her, and told her she should come by and take the coffee machine back.

There was no way around it. Taking a deep breath she rang the bell, feeling her heart drum heavily.

As usual, she hadn't heard his footsteps behind the door, before he opened it.

Katara tried to smile, and dipped her head back to be able to look up in his eyes. She had forgotten how tall he was. Sometimes, when she thought of him, she was still only thinking of him as a small, skinny teenager. He certainly was still lean, Gran Gran's cooking hadn't changed anything about that, but he was a head taller than her, something which had changed during their last year in high school.

But the most strange thing about him was his hair. Or the lack of it.

He had been bald, when he had been new in high school, a relic of the monk school he had attended before. But the last six years she had only ever seen him with short shiny jet black hair. Blinking she tried not to say anything about it.

"Hi."

Aang's smile seemed to be genuine. "Hey. I'm glad you came. I bought a mixer, and I don't have any space to put it, but with the coffee machine gone..."

She nodded. "I see."

Stretching out his arm Aang moved to the side to let her in.

When she looked around, her eyes almost fell out of her skull. "Wow! You, uh..."

Aang followed her gaze, and rubbed his neck, chuckling sheepishly. "Yeah, I did some redecorations."

The walls were painted in yellow with beautiful, delicate, orange swirls on it. Wind chimes hung from doorframes and a lot of mountainer's decoration stood everywhere. A large painting of a temple on a mountain peak hung now over the sofa.

"Wow, it is... beautiful," she whispered. "I feel as if I would be in one of the mountain provinces."

"Yeah, I felt like I needed it."

Katara quickly looked at her former boyfriend. He looked thoughtful, while he was looking at the painting of the temple. "Do you miss it?" she asked.

He shrugged. "All the time, but during these last weeks it got worse."

"Oh." She quickly looked down at her feet. Was it her fault somehow?

Aang shook his head. "Anyway..." Taking an exaggerated deep breath he walked to the kitchen and grabbed the coffee machine package. He had put it into a bag. "Here. I still got the original package, if you'd like to have it, but I figured it would be easier to transport it like this", he said, handing it over to Katara.

"Thanks." She smiled again, and wanted desperately to say something, because she had missed him. But nothing good came to her mind.

"Uh, Katara?"

"Hm?"

"I know you feel bad for... breaking up. But I'll be okay. I'm doing fine, and..." He sheepishly scratched his neck. "I'd like us to be friends again. It just feels strange, you know, not having you in my life."

Katara felt her heart warming, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "Yes, I know what you mean. I was just trying to give you some time. But I hope we can be friends again, too."

"Good," Aang sighed, grinning. Then a thoughtful expression suddenly covered his face. "I mean, I'm not ready yet to be friends now, but I'll call you then, okay?"

Smiling Katara nodded. "Yes, of course. I'm just glad that you want to be friends again." Feeling a very satisfying happiness in her chest, she sighed heavily. "Alright. I've got to go now. Coffee Cups."

Aang's face seemed to light up. "Oh, we can walk together. I was just about to head out anyway. There's this farmers market not far from there, and Meng told me they had incredibly good tofu."

Katara slowly raised her brows. Meng?

The girl had befriended Aang und Katara immediately, once they had started their studies. Meng had introduced them to friends of hers, and they had all hung a lot at Coffee Cups, studied together, or partied together.

But since Katara had broken up with Aang, Meng and the others had not once written her a message or even called. During lectures it had been pretty tense, and since Aang had always sat with them, she had taken a seat far away from them.

Aang rushed to his room, and came back seconds later with a wool poncho in yellow and orange, bending down in the hallways to put his sneakers on.

Her mouth formed an O, for it really surprised her that he wanted to walk with her.

"So...," she began, not knowing quite what to talk about. "Meng is now a vegetarian, too?"

Aang rose back up, after having bound his shoes, grinning. "No, she is only open to new food. And, I am not trying to get others to convert to vegetarianism. It's a personal choice for everyone."

Katara grinned back, but rolled her eyes, since she had heard the same thing for years. "Good. Ready?"

Aang was really convinced that vegetarianism was the best way to live, and he often said so, but he also paid attention not to annoy or pressure people about it. That he had to point put very often, too.

When they still had been together, Katara had often eaten vegetarian, too, since it had just been easier this way, when living together. She had also saved the ones for buying good meat, which had also not hurt. At her family's home, or when they had eaten outwards had been the only times for her to eat meat, but she hadn't even missed it that much.

Grabbing his keys from the key board, that she knew so well, Aang nodded, saluting.

Katara rolled her eyes again, walking outside.

It had been strange to be in this apartment again, since she had lived in there for one year and a half. Some things had still been, and mostly felt familiar, but she wasn't overwhelmed by any nostalgic feelings, which gladdened her. She had been afraid that coming here would wake old feelings, not for Aang, but just a longing for an easier time, when it had been just the two of them. But it was better like this.

"Are you seeing someone?" Aang suddenly asked, while they were passing the first floor.

Katara stumbled and quickly grabbed the handrail.

"Woah, be careful, Katara!" Aang shouted out.

"I'm okay. Uh, what... you... Uh, what do you mean?" Pressing her lips together she concentrated better on the next steps, but still felt mortified that Aang had actually asked that question. She had been pretty sure he would be too shy, or embarrassed to ask.

"Well, you said you wanted to go to Coffee Cups, and I'm curious if you're going to meet someone there," he explained, and Katara let out a deep breath, continuing descending the stairs.

"Yes," she said carefully. "Why?"

"I thought," she could hear from his voice that the whole thing made him nervous, "that if it were Sokka or someone, I could join you, and then we could go all together to the farmers market."

Katara opened the door, holding it open to let Aang out, and fell into step next to him, walking on the pavement down the street.

Trees stood on both sides of the street, and the beautiful old houses, painted in different colours, did actually make Katara feel waves of nostalgia. She had loved this neighbourhood, colourful, lots of green, and mostly just students of the university. The whole block belonged to some rich graduates of the university, and they were renting the apartments for very modest prices. Nowhere else in the city had Katara found something else like it, so she unfortunately had had to move into the dormitory.

"I thought you needed time to be friends again," she said with a frown, adjusting the weight of the coffee machine, hiding her nose in her scarf.

Aang didn't look very bothered by the cold. He had always been rather tolerant to it, which had annoyed her a lot, since she was the one who had grown up surrounded by ice and snow.

"Yes. But maybe I can already get used to it like that." He shrugged. "And I... I miss hanging with you and the others. Only hanging with them is not the same."

She sighed, looking at him.

"I know what you mean. I miss it, too, but... I'll meet with someone else," she said quietly, slowly.

"Oh, okay then." He sounded a bit disappointed, but Katara told herself that this was only the case, because he had wanted to spend time with her as a friend.

"I can't keep quiet anymore," she suddenly exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I know it's not polite, but... Why did you shave your head?"

A grin answered her, and he touched his head. "Why? I think it looks cool. Besides, you know I was in a monk school, before I moved to Ba Sing Se, right? I thought I might take the old look back."

"Oh. Like you decorated the apartment?" Katara asked.

Aang hummed affirmatively. "Yep."

This woke a feeling inside of her she didn't like at all. Was Aang so homesick that he would maybe leave the capital soon? Didn't he like living here? Was he going to leave her and all his friends behind?

"Are you going back soon?" she asked.

"Why? Do you want me to?"

"No! I just meant, because you miss your home," she explained. "So it might seem as if you'd like to go back, even if only for a few weeks."

Aang touched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe during summer holidays."

"Hm."

"And you? Didn't you want to go back, too?"

Katara nodded. "Yes, I still want to. But I don't have time during these holidays, and in summer I wanted to do that internship we'll need."

"Oh yeah, totally forgot about that."

Katara had to smile, thinking that this was typical about Aang. He did take his studies seriously, but he got easily distracted, and often forgot about focusing on important things.

"How is your new apartment?" he asked then.

"Oh, it's great. Uh, I have a balcony, but I have to walk up four floors. And there was already a wardrobe in it, yeah... I'm not used to living alone yet, I think."

Aang nodded. "You were always a family person after all."

She nodded. "Yes. I'm visiting them every Sunday for lunch."

They turned a corner, and Katara began to panic a bit. She didn't want Aang to see who it was she was meeting there. Hopefully he was already inside, and then they wouldn't see each other at all. She didn't think that Aang would become angry because of their rivalry in high school, mostly because it hadn't bothered Aang that much, after Katara had snapped at Zuko. Aang also wasn't a person who dwelled on the past a lot. If Zuko would tell him that he was a good person now, and wanted to be his friend, Aang would probably believe it and hug him.

"That's good to know. Hey, wasn't your cousin's dog pregnant a few months ago?"

Katara frowned, thinking about Korra's last visit. "Uh, yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Because I want to get a puppy,' he said, his voice full of happiness. "I'm allowed to bring him to lectures, and working with him would be okay, too, so can you please ask Korra, if she could give me one of Naga's cubs?"

She was very surprised that Aang still knew their names, but then again, she had probably dragged him to enough family events for him to know.

"Yeah, I'll ask her," she said, smiling, staring at the entrance door to Coffee Cups, how it was almost already next to her. "I hope you'll get your tofu," she added, turning towards Aang the moment the door was next to her, hoping to get rid of him quickly.

Smiling he turned towards her, too. "Thanks. Uh, Meng and the others wanted to go to that dormitory party at Teo's in a week. Do you wanna come, too?"

Grimacing, she looked down on her feet. "I, uh... I'd like to, but Meng hadn't been really nice to me, after uh, we broke up. So I don't know if I want to see her." She looked up at him again, seeing the disappointment in his dark brownish grey eyes. "But I'll think about it. Thanks for inviting me." She smiled.

"No problem," Aang said, cocking his head to the side.

Now Katara could see him crossing the street behind Aang.

Oh no.

Their eyes locked, and she knew she had to do something, if she didn't want the situation to become uncomfortable.

"Okay then, uh, bye," she said, feeling a little embarrassed at not knowing how to say goodbye to him. She chose to hug him lightly, and drew back quickly, biting on her lower lip.

"Yeah, bye," Aang said, smiling, and turned around to cross the street.

Zuko stopped immediately in his tracks, when he saw him.

Aang stood still, too, and Katara only wished she hadn't got out of bed this morning.

oOo

What was she doing here with him?

He'd thought they had broken up. Was she here to tell him that she couldn't be his fake girlfriend, since she still had feelings for Aang?

The boy had certainly grown a lot, he noticed.

He almost hadn't recognised him, but those wide grey eyes, shimmering with tears, had been hard to forget. He had never wanted to make him cry, but... that was almost seven years ago now. He was sure Aang wouldn't care about it anymore. After all, he had tried to befriend Zuko later, only Zuko hadn't wanted to.

"Hi!" Aang said, recovering first from the surprise.

Zuko couldn't keep the frown out of his face. "Hello."

"Wow, we haven't seen each other in ages!" Aang exclaimed, grinning.

Zuko reluctantly took more steps in their direction, knowing he had to get off the road.

"Yeah," he said, once he was standing on the pavement. He scratched the side of his head, wondering how to go on. Why didn't Katara say anything?

Aang turned back to look at Katara, his face grimacing slightly.

Katara looked as if she was in pain, and Zuko's worries became only graver. Oh no, she would recline his offer, after all!

Why was she still not saying anything?!

"Uh, do you live here?" Aang went on, raising his eyebrows in a polite manner.

"Yep. I am originally from here, and moved back."

"Wow, that's funny, how all of us ended up here, while we were in high school in Ba Sing Se and born in totally different provinces." Aang chuckled a bit, but it didn't sound genuine.

Zuko only nodded, still not knowing enough about this situation to act in a certain way. Should he just try and do what he came here for?

"Yeeeeaaaaah," Aang drew it out, rubbing his neck, and looking from Zuko to Katara, looking a bit uncomfortable. "You, uh, did you want to go to this coffee shop?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder behind him.

Licking his dry lips Zuko looked at Katara, and decided to just say what he came here for. "Yes, I wanted to."

"Oh." Aang's eyes grew wider, looking horrified as he looked at Katara.

Zuko took a deep breath. "I was going to meet Katara here."

That had apparently been the wrong thing to say, for she grimaced in a terrified way.

"Really?" Aang sounded surprised. "I thought... So how come you two don't hate each other anymore?"

"We talked about it."

Katara tucked her hair behind her ears, and started to smile. "Yeah, and we found out that the other isn't as bad as we always thought."

Zuko held his breath, staring at Aang. So did that mean they weren't together again?

"Ah, so, you two..." Aang pointed at both of them, with his arms crossed. "You have a date?"

Zuko's eyes widened in horror. No, of course not! Never! How could he...?

"Yeah," Katara chimed in, smiling at him, way too widely to look normal.

Zuko blinked, but got a grip, and nodded.

Aang looked back at Katara, and Zuko couldn't see his face anymore, but he observed Katara's face to harden a bit, as she looked back. She looked as if she wanted to say 'So what?'.

"Oh, then, I'll leave you guys. Have fun!" Aang said, nodded, turned to Zuko to smile at him, also very wide, waved, and walked past him to cross the street.

Zuko turned to Katara, whose eyes were suddenly wide, as if she had seen a ghost, and he could see tears shimmering in them. Oh gosh.

"You can go with him if you want," he said.

Katara wiped her cheeks dry. "No, it's okay, thanks. It's just... He told me earlier that he's not totally over me, and now he's even more hurt although it shouldn't matter, since I broke up with him, right? I have every right to have a date. Even though this is none." She smiled weakly at him and sniffed. "Let's just go inside."

"Katara..." he began, but she ignored him and simply walked into the coffee shop.

Letting out a deep sigh he moved to follow her, hoping she had said the truth. This situation was incredibly uncomfortable to him and he hoped her relationship with Aang wouldn't ruin their arrangement, nor their "date" now.

* * *

_This was getting so long, so I chose to split it up. _

_Ha, and I could finally write some Aang! I've been waiting for forever to write him, he's just such a great character, and I really missed him in this story! But since this story retells the story of Avatar in a different way, he will be more important towards the end of it. I really can't wait to write Zuko and Aang as friends!:D_

_I hope you liked the chapter, and please let me know what you think about it!_

_Until next time! _


	14. Chapter 13

_Hi everyone! _

_This will be my last updated chapter during the coming exam season. I'll actually have my first exam tomorrow about English literature! Ha, I can't wait for it (please save me!)! _

_I started writing other stories during Christmas break in order to be able to update something during exam season, although I will have to study, so keep your eyes open for those, they're coming soon! _

**_Facts about this chapter and the fictional country based on the Avatar world, in which this story takes place: _**

_In this chapter, there will be talk about money, and although I used the currency before, I don't think I explained it. In _The Legend of Korra_ people pay with Yuans in Republic City, and since this is a modern AU, I thought this currency would fit in here, too. It has nothing to do with the Chinese Yuan, which is, by the way, also pronounced differently. Elementia is a neighbour country to China, but the currency is not the same, also since the value is different. But I don't know a lot about the United Republic Yuan, so I invented a value: Five Yuans would be one Euro or 1,10 $. Just in case someone would be wondering why Katara would need 2.500 Yuans monthly to pay for her apartment in a dormitory and household._

_Other things about Elementia I should mention, so that you won't get confused with future chapters: Since the Western Province equals the Fire Nation, and the Eastern Province equals the Earth Kingdom, I put a large lake between them. I mentioned that before, but I couldn't find any names for the oceans in the Avatar world, so I simply asked Google translator for ocean in Chinese: Haiyang. The lake is therefore named Lake Haiyang. It stretches from the Northern Province of Elementia to the Southern Province, while both provinces still have the ocean in their north and south, which means that the Eastern Province aka the Earth Kingdom has an ocean (East Chinese Sea) on their eastern side, since I figured Elementia would be in the east of China, with Japanese influences in the Western part of Elementia, and Chinese influences in the Eastern part, although it should be the other way around, since Japan is more in the east than China, but I don't want to change the geography of the Avatar world. To fit Elementia in there, I thought Japan would be more in the east and Taiwan more in the south, so that a country almost the size of China would have enough space. _

_In case anyone wondered about the language which is spoken in Elementia, I decided it was English, because Elementia had been a British colony, and only gained its independence forty-four years ago. The last Kasaishi Emperor Sozin would have worked with the British, which would have been one reason for rebelling against him, because honestly, which country wants to be colonised? Sozin would have only wanted to stay in charge, so he had sold out his country to the British. After the successful beheading of Emperor Sozin, the British had intervened, killed or imprisoned all the rebels, but had decided on a compromise, making Elementia a democracy. The people of Elementia and the British Parliament would have elected the president, until Elementia gained its independence from the UK in 1976. _

_This is not based on actual British colonies gaining their independence, I'm simply using it as an explanation why inhabitants of an Asian country would speak English. This is also not a critique to the UK, I simply chose it, since they had colonies in Eastern Asia, in which people still speak English today. Although this definitely can be seen as a critique against colonialism in general, also against British colonialism. I'm simply saying that this is not a critique against UK politics today. If I wanted it to be, I would have mentioned a country exiting a union of countries, which woud lead to economic problems. _

_Sorry for all this text above..._

_I do not own _Avatar The Last Airbender_, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

This coffee shop was way too much fluff for him.

Frowning Zuko looked around, again finding that it looked like the living room of a grandmother. This purple on the wall and all those differently coloured chairs, armchairs, chaiselongues and sofas with all the differently coloured and patterned cushions on it didn't do a lot to make Zuko feel comfortable. He'd rather be in a normal coffee shop, where everything was made out of metal and wood, no bolsters, no cushions and no carpets!

But he found it fitting that Katara liked this environment, so he went along with it.

Zuko joined Katara in line, his thoughts still occupied with Aang, and how Katara had looked at him. He looked down at her arm, pondering if it would be okay to touch it. He thought it was.

She turned to look at him, after he had tipped on her arm, her eyebrows raised. She still looked somehow sad, but tried to mask it with being annoyed.

"I can order for you."

She stared at him, unrelenting, until she sighed and looked down. "Hot chocolate with whipped cream and… an apple beignet."

He nodded, watching her go to the table she had sat on last time, too. Her hair fell down in a low pony tail over her leather jacket. In high school it had been braided, and had swung from one side to another, when she had walked down a hallway.

Frowning, he looked back at the counter, noticing he was next in line.

He had ordered tea and a mango filled pastry for himself. This time he asked if he could have a larger tray so that everything would fit on it.

Sitting down in front of Katara, she only glanced shortly at him, before looking out of the window again. She still wore that necklace, and two thin strands of her long brown hair were braided to frame her face, forming loops, because the ends went back into her plait.

He sighed. "If you changed your mind because of Aang, that's fine," he tried to reassure her, although he felt slightly panicked. What would his father do to him if that happened? What could he do to Katara, so that she wouldn't choose Aang? More money? Would he actually have to try to make her fall in love with him?

She shot him a glare, her arms crossed. "I told you it had nothing to do with this. He's my friend, and I don't want to hurt him. But I did. Twice now. You would do me a big favour if you wouldn't mention him again," she said darkly, and Zuko decided to listen to her.

She did look serious and angry. And he didn't want to get on her bad side again.

"Okay," he agreed. "Eat then. Your beignet was heated, and it will get cold, if you don't eat."

"Same for your pastry," she shot back, and stubbornly drank from her hot chocolate, not sparing the beignet a glance.

He rolled his eyes then. "Okay. I already know you're stubborn as hell. But we wanted to get to know each other more today. So tell me something about you I don't know."

She chuckled dryly. "That's like everything."

He shrugged. "Fine. Just start. I wanna know."

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. Alright. What should I tell you? About my character? Things I like and don't like? My hobbies?"

He shrugged. "Whatever. What you want. What you think I should know to convince your family that we're a couple."

Finally chewing on her beignet she seemed to reflect upon this. "Well, I... Pooh, that's not as easy as I thought. Okay, I'm... Uh, my favourite colour is blue. My favourite meal is sea prunes stew."

"What?"

"It's growing in the south, close to the sea. It's a fruit, although it is used like a vegetable. Ocean kumquats taste similarly."

Zuko grimaced. He hated these things. "So what's in this stew?"

"Apart from sea prunes? Well, simply what you have at home. All sorts of fish, crabs and other sea food. Onions, leek, other vegetables. The usual."

Zuko raised his eyebrows, not looking convinced. How could a stew be her favourite meal? Why not... noodles? Or fried rice? Pasties, or dumplings, baozi? Anything he could relate to? Even pizza, or hamburgers, fish and chips, Kebap... He would understand that way better than her love for a sea stew.

"It's eaten in a smaller form pretty often in the south, but when we had festivals or something to celebrate we used to make a giant pot of it, and added a lot of ingredients. We ate bread with it."

He nodded. Yeah, bread was something he was familiar with. He loved bread. Not the one he could get here though, since this one was way too soft and white. On one of his "growing-up-through-seeing-the-world"-trips with Uncle he had eaten bread in Switzerland. It had had nuts in it, was made with a darker grain, and the crust had been hard and crunchy, while the inside had been soft and had smelled so good, when freshly baked. That was real bread to him.

"My favourite time of the year is spring, I guess. But I like the summer, too, since I like swimming outdoors. Swimming is also my favourite sport, apart from dancing. But I'm not in a club or anything. It's just for free time."

"What do you like to dance?" Zuko wanted to know.

"Our tribal dances? It looks a bit like Tai Chi, only faster, and more powerful. Uhm, I don't really know what to think of other styles. Well, I like ballet, too, but hip hop and so on isn't something for me."

"So you don't like to go out to dance then?" He raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his tea.

"No, I do! That's okay. It's fun, and I can always dance how I want to. What about you?"

He immediately scowled. Normally, he never told that anyone, but he supposed he should be honest with her. "I don't like the crowds that much, but I like the dancing. It reminds me of working out."

"So you like working out?" she asked, looking suddenly very judgily.

"Yeah," he said slowly.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Maybe because of adrenaline? I don't know..."

She frowned more, and he took a deep breath. "But I might like it, because it is a way of expressing feelings. Inner turmoil. And I feel better, when I'm finished."

He could see that she looked pleased with that answer, for she looked far friendlier than before.

"That is good," she said. "And important. It's healthy to let your feelings out, and not to keep them locked up."

Yeah, that was a bit too heavy for his taste.

"Okay, what else?" he asked, taking the last bite of his pastry.

"I hate to be bossed around, or when people make me feel stupid or inferior. Or when they make fun of me. I, uh, can get very angry sometimes," she said, almost sheepishly, while fidgeting with her hands.

"I already know that," he said, smiling. "Especially since I was the cause of a lot of your anger in high school. But I never made fun of you."

A high chuckle escaped her, sounding false or nervous. "Yeah. You're right. I was actually talking about Sokka or Toph… Anyway, I do like it when people have manners. And don't eat with a full mouth. And take regular baths. And don't behave like children." She suddenly scrunched her nose and sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"What?" He sat up straighter in alarm, thinking she had changed her mind after all.

She only smiled at him. "I'm basically describing my brother and best friend, so apparently these things don't bother me that much."

Zuko smirked, nodding. "Yeah. There are very few things I actually like about my sister or Jet, but I still like spending time with them."

Katara's nose scrunched up, looking disgusted. "Oh yeah, Azula. Totally forgot about her."

He raised his eyebrows. "If you don't bully me, she won't bully you," he simply said.

Katara cocked her head to the side. "Was that really her only reason? That's kind of... nice."

He frowned in thought. "Weeeell, I guess it was more like an excuse. She would have tormented anyone who was mean to me, but she also really enjoys being mean or making people suffer, but only if they deserve it in her opinion. She loves to win."

Katara huffed, and he lifted his shoulders a bit.

"Although she always goes for the extreme."

"Why did you live with your uncle, when you were a teenager? And why didn't Azula live with the two of you? And she wasn't there from the beginning, so where was she? Did she stay here? Why was she here?"

He swallowed, feeling his throat drying out, and sweat glistening on his forehead.

"You don't have to know that to convince my family that we're a couple," he rasped, staring out of the window.

Katara was quiet for a long time, but he didn't manage to gather the courage to look at her.

"Okay. Er, you don't have to tell me. But... you're glad to be back here, right? Are you a family person?"

He felt relief rush through his body at her change of topic. He knew he would never be able to answer her first question.

"Maybe?" He wasn't sure. "Probably. I don't like being apart from my family for too long, and although I don't really participate on any family activities, I just like having them around me."

"I never thought you liked them that much," Katara said.

"Why?"

"You... Uh, oh well, I assumed you just don't like to show affection in public."

Zuko frowned. "That's not true."

"Really?" She smirked at him, as if she knew she would win this.

"Yes. Really," he replied sternly.

"Then tell me something nice about me. How you think of me."

He rolled his eyes. As if he would be bothered by something like that. "You can be very funny. Although it's mostly annoying, because you're making fun of me, I get that you like to laugh, and to make people laugh, too. I also like your laugh. You are strong willed and don't beg down before anyone."

She blinked at him, and he couldn't help but feeling smug. Ha, he had managed to make Katara Qinu speechless!

Hiding his grin he took a sip of his tea.

After recovering from her surprise she looked annoyed. "Okay, fine, but what about your sister? Would you tell her in public that you love her? That you think she's amazing?"

That made him grimace. "I would, but she would probably just laugh at me, and tell me that she already knows how amazing she is."

"And your mother?"

That got a genuine smile out of him. "Totally. She's the best person I know."

Katara's eyes widened, and suddenly a smile spread on her lips. Not a teasing one, a real one. "That is really sweet of you."

What? Sweet? Him? How?

He actually choked on his next sip, and coughed into his napkin, trying to get the bit of tea out of his windpipe. His leg hit the table and the cutlery clattered, probably making other guests look in their direction.

A sudden strong hit on his back startled him, and he could suddenly breathe more freely.

"Better?" he could hear Katara ask, but she was standing behind him.

"Yeah. Just admit that you waited for an opportunity to hit me."

She grinned at him, rolled her eyes, and turned around to sit down on her chair again. "I take it you can't react to compliments very well."

He felt heat crawling up his neck. "What? Uh, I don't know."

"You're really handsome."

The heat became worse, as his eyes widened at a smiling Katara, the blue of her eyes looking so deep and beautiful.

Wait, what?

His head would explode from all this blood, any minute now, as he bit down on his lower lip.

Then she suddenly laughed. She was laughing very loudly, holding her stomach, and even slamming her hand on the table. "Oh my, that was so priceless! Hahaha!"

The blood vanished from his face very quickly, when he noticed she had only said this to prove her point. Annoyed he crossed his arms and glared at her. How would he survive if she would always make fun of him? Even though he really liked her laugh, that wasn't worth it. Not even her sparkling blue eyes, the delighted expression on her face or the high pitched sighs, as she wiped tears from her eyes. Nope, definitely not worth it. And also not cute.

"Are you finished?" he asked pointedly.

Nodding she smiled at him. "You will need to get used to receiving compliments, you know. If we are going to pretend to be a couple, I will compliment you, and you would have to act as if you were used to me adoring you."

If that would ever happen, he was sure he wouldn't ever get used to it. It wouldn't be easy with any girl, but Katara had hated him in high school! How could he make it seem, as if he was used to it?

He also didn't feel comfortable with the topic. So he scowled. "Why would you even have to compliment me?!"

"To make sure you know how much I care about you," she said, smiling, and suddenly laid her hand on top of his.

His eyes widened again, and he was about to stutter something, when she sighed and drew back.

"Honestly, you aren't a really good actor, are you?"

"Uh..." He scratched his head. "I always gave the drama club a wide berth."

"Well, you will have to work on it. If I'll compliment you, just smile at me and mouth something. Or give the compliment back," she instructed.

"Didn't you want to tell me more about you?"

"I'm a good actress. You apparently not, so let's practise." She shook her head, then looked up at him, and smiled softly. "I'm so glad we're together, Zuko."

His eyes widened again. His heart stuttered in a kind of way, and her twitching eyebrow told him that he did the wrong thing.

Shortly closing his eyes, he tried to think of something he would tell his girlfriend. Something he might have said to Mai, or Jin.

Opening his eyes, he saw Katara still smiling softly at him, and he tried to smile back. Just as softly. Who would he smile at like that? Probably at Peter Parker as a kid, while thinking about all the great things he would do, and how he would become his hero. It would be a smile full of devotion and thanks.

"I'm happy to know you feel like this," he managed to get out, while smiling, but then he couldn't pretend any longer, and gasped for air.

Katara chuckled. "Wow, I thought this would be easier. After all, it had been you asking me for a fake relationship."

"Yeah, I know," he grumbled. "I'm a terrible actor. And a terrible liar. I don't know what I was thinking." Letting his head hang, he grasped onto his hair, screaming internally. Who would ever believe they were together?

"Hey, don't you fire me! I haven't even got paid yet, and my rent really needs the money!"

Sighing he looked up at her again. "Yeah, sure. How much would you think is appropriate for a month?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Depends. My rent, food, other things for my household, and what I'll have to buy for my studies have to be included. And then, it's about everything I would have to do. That's what I wanted to ask you. What exactly would I have to do? You don't live with your family, so it cannot be that much, right?"

He twisted his mouth. "You could think that, yeah, but there are events. You would have to accompany me to them. Some for the company, others for my father's campaign. I think two dates a month should be enough to let the paparazzi take pictures and think we're together. Maybe there would be an interview. I don't know, depends on my father, really. And we would have to pretend to sleep at the other's place very often. And you'll have to come to lunch, or dinner, or whatever family activity they'd want to do, only if you're free, of course."

She grimaced. "Uh, I don't have a couch, but you can sleep on my bedroll. There is just not that much space at my place. But you probably have two guest rooms in your penthouse apartment, right?"

Zuko gave her a flat look. "Sorry. Jet's living in the guest room. That's okay, I can just bring my portable, foldable, handy king size bed with me. It fits everywhere."

Katara looked at him with a funny expression, before something like a reluctant smile appeared on her face, although she was frowning. "Did you make a joke?"

His left eyebrow rose slowly. "No, I really intend to do that," he said sarcastically.

Her mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something nasty, but she apparently decided against that. "Okay. So you do have a sense of humour. Noted."

He made a show of rolling his eyes, while he had to fight a smile. "What about the other things you'll have to do?"

She grimaced. "I don't know. I don't have any fancy things to wear for those events. And I cannot buy a new dress for everything! I don't even know how to walk in high heels!"

He blinked. "Uh, I can buy you these things. Or... I'll give you the money, and you'll buy them, because I wouldn't know what to buy."

She chuckled. "I can only imagine, but... that's really a lot of money, Zuko."

He cringed. "I get a lot of money from Father, and I don't know what to do with it. I was thinking about buying Jet a motorcycle for his birthday, but that would probably only lead to his soon death."

She raised one eyebrow. "Okay, honestly, I need this money, and I think you should pay me a lot, since you're asking something totally crazy and not even moral from me, and this is insane, but I also don't want to use you, or make you bankrupt."

That was funny. Father gave him far more money as that Katara could make him bankrupt. Right.

But laughing at that would probably only enforce her prejudices against richer people, so he only shook his head. "No, that's okay, really. I owe you big time. So name any price."

She narrowed her eyes again. "I want two thousand and five hundred Yuans for my apartment and household. And extra two thousand, when I have to buy a dress, or shoes, or jewellery. And you're going to pay for all the dates, and anything else I will have to go to because of you."

That was... less than he had expected. "Are you sure you don't want more for the dresses?"

Her jaw dropped. "What? Why? Are those dresses too cheap for the upper class?"

Flinching, he suddenly felt bad. "No, it's just that I only know from Azula or my ex what dresses do cost, and they were more expensive."

Katara seemed to ponder on this, her mouth moving from one side to the other, her teeth attacking her lower lip. "No," she finally said. "I refuse to waste that much money on ridiculously expensive dresses. I'll buy nice things, but nothing above one thousand five hundred Yuans, just because a certain brand is knitted on to the fabric or whatever," she grumbled, staring at the Ralph Lauren Polo player on his chest.

Heat was creeping up Zuko's neck again, but he also felt a bit offended. This was one of his favourite long sleeved shirts in a deep crimson red with a white collar, and no one had ever said anything against the brand on its chest.

"Alright," he agreed. "But if you'll need anything else, let me know."

Katara nodded, still biting her lip. "This is so messed up," she murmured. "I kind of feel bad for doing this. Like Pretty Woman or something."

He cocked his head to the side. "You're pretty, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this expression."

She shook her head. "It's just a film. Richard Gere is paying Julia Roberts, a prostitute, to play his girlfriend for some time, because he doesn't want to deal with women who are really interested in him. She also gets all those expensive great things from him, and..."

"Wait a second." He held a hand up. "Are you comparing yourself to a prostitute? Do you think so lowly of me paying you for pretending to be my girlfriend?" His jaw clenched against his will, and he formed his hands to fists under the table. What the magma?

"No!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide, and held her hands up in order to appease him. "But kind of the same thing happened, anyway. Just that I'm not a prostitute. And you won't see me naked."

Zuko took deep measuring breaths in order to calm down and not trying to imagine what she would look like naked. "You don't have to get fancy dresses if you don't want to. You could also show up in jeans, I certainly wouldn't mind," he said sincerely.

She smiled a bit.

"But my father would. It wouldn't look good. You see, if we really were a couple, and my father would ask me to bring you, and if I'd say that you didn't want to come, because you hadn't a fitting dress, he would probably give you your own credit card, or slap me for being an inconsiderate idiot who didn't offer to buy a nice dress for you!" That would probably really happen. But not because Ozai cared about Katara, only about how she would make him look. "This is not the same thing as in this film, Katara. This is mostly to please my father and for the public. To make sure Elementia will get a good next president."

"I know." Then she suddenly smiled at him. "I didn't even thank you for telling me the truth and giving me this opportunity."

He let his back touch his rest, bringing more space between them, feeling baffled. "Thank me?"

"Yeah, after all, you really could have tried to make me fall for you, and if I had, and you would have dumped me, after your father would have got elected, I would feel miserable, so thanks. For not making me feel miserable," she explained, then drank the last bit of her hot chocolate.

"I don't think I would have ever succeeded in making you fall for me," he only said, but a smile tugged at his lips, and he felt slightly better.

She looked at him, as if she was searching for good and bad things about him. "Mhm, probably not. Your acting skills are far too bad for that."

He had to chuckle, which surprised him, since she kind of had insulted him, hadn't she? But her voice and face had seemed different from a real insult. She had reminded him more of Jet teasing him.

"Apropos, what about physical affection?" Katara asked.

Zuko frowned. Physical... What?

"We..." Oh no.

"How was it with your ex?" Katara went on. "You said you were okay to show affection in public, but what about physical affection?"

He grimaced. "Mai and I... showed physical affection in public very often."

Katara mirrored him, then twisted her mouth. "Great."

At least she didn't make gagging motions.

"What about you?" he quickly asked.

A nervous chuckle escaped her, and she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Aang and I showed a little bit of affection, but mostly through words and looks. We hugged often and always touched each other, but we didn't kiss a lot in front of others. But we had... pet names."

He let his head fall back and groaned in annoyance. "Pet names? Are you serious?"

"What?!" she snarled, stemming her hands on her hips. "That's asking less than kissing!"

He blushed furiously. "I never said we had to kiss," he mumbled, looking at his lap, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Well, it's kind of obvious we have to, isn't it? If you wouldn't behave around me the way you behaved around your ex, wouldn't your family think that something was wrong?"

Sighing he looked up again. "Well, my parents probably not, because they only saw Mai and me right before we broke up. But Azula would definitely notice that something is different. And then she would probably assume the right thing and threaten me to spill it to Father."

"I guess my father would prefer if you wouldn't show any physical or any kind of affection towards me in front of him, but my brother and mother would become suspicious, too. Or, at least, they would worry if we really had feelings for each other."

Zuko rubbed his hand over his face. It made sense, and it had probably been obvious from the beginning that they would have to do such things to convince others of their relationship. But since those things made him very uncomfortable he had tried not to think about them. He had never did things like that with a girl he hadn't fallen for (this one attempt at a one-night-stand didn't count). This would become very weird.

But he nodded. "I understand. So what should I call you?"

She shrugged. "You pick something. So that you'll be okay with it. I'll probably just call you "sweetie" or "love"."

He grimaced again, but relented. "Alright," he murmured. "I'll think of something."

Then she suddenly leaned forward. "Now you've got to tell me about you."

Frowning he shook his head. "Yeah, in a sec. It's just that... We should probably practise. Being a couple. It will make things easier."

Twisting a mouth she nodded. "Yeah. What do you have in mind?"

"We could... just meet at your or my place and pretend to be a couple all evening. This way we will be more used to each other, and things like pet names or kissing won't... No, they will feel weird, but the thing is no one except for us will notice that it's weird."

She didn't look very convinced, and definitely not happy at the prospect to pretend to be his girlfriend, when there wouldn't be anyone else around, but in the end she nodded. "Yeah. You'll definitely need the practice."

Zuko rolled his eyes at her, but felt his stomach flutter nervously at the thought of behaving like her boyfriend. Oh gods, how could this ever end well?

* * *

_Please review, and let me know what you think!_

_Until after the exam season! :D_


	15. Chapter 14

_Hey everyone! I'm glad to be finally able to post another chapter of this story! I'm sorry this took so long. With Zutara Month and my other two fanfictions I had quite a lot to do... _

_Zuko will mention a Lake Haiyang in this chapter. I explained this in the last chapter, but I thought I should mention it again. Haiyang is Chinese and means ocean. This lake is between the Western Province (Fire Nation) and the Eastern Province (Earth Kingdom). Zuko will say that people closer to Lake Haiyang probably eat more Japanese apricots. He means people further East, since he's in the Western Province, and the lake is in the East. Because Japan is further East, too. _

_Yeah... So, I hope you will enjoy the next chapter! Please leave reviews if you do! _

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. _

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

They had totally messed up the greeting, and both knew it.

Acting like a couple wasn't that easy with someone you didn't know well, or used to despise. It was probably harder for Katara than for Zuko, since she still had a problem with being nice to him.

She liked to tease, so what?

But Zuko didn't react well to that, and she feared he might take it too seriously, after all, they hadn't gotten along for a long time.

Katara had smiled at him and let him enter her apartment, as he had rung the bell. Only when he took off his coat did she remember that she had wanted to greet him with a hug. So she did that, after he had taken off his coat.

It was a short, but tight hug, one that Katara liked to give. The only thing which she didn't like about it was having to feel Zuko's body so close to hers. He was way too close for her personal taste, but that was what a hug required. She didn't have anything against him being close, but she felt his hard chest and stomach through his sweater, and she really didn't need to know how hard his body was. It made her feel uncomfortable. She wouldn't be able to get it out of her head. Well, Zuko apparently put a lot of effort into his training.

After Zuko also took off his shoes, Katara felt suddenly a bit self-conscious about her apartment. It was the smallest place she had ever lived in, and her bedroom was not even in another room. She had a curtain separating her bedroom area from the kitchen area, and it wasn't even big enough to fit a sofa in.

"Give me your coat, I'm gonna... er, hang it somewhere," she murmured, stretching out her hand towards Zuko.

One corner of his mouth lifted, as he nodded.

Katara tried to look as if there really was some place she could hang his coat, but she simply laid it on a chair in her bedroom area. Returning to the kitchen, she took an exaggeratedly long breath.

"So, getting pretty crowded in here with suddenly two people!" Good thing, she had finally managed to unpack all the cartons.

Zuko looked around, and probably seemed to realise for the first time that this was all there was to her apartment. But hey, it was a dormitory! He couldn't expect much more to that.

He shrugged. "There's enough space."

Wondering if he had only said this out of pity, Katara raised an eyebrow, but walked then to the pot steaming on the stove. Busying herself with checking the ingredients, she started rambling about how this evening was supposed to go.

"Okay, look, we said this evening would be as if we had a date. So we'll try to get to know each other, tell of ourselves, making compliments to one another, and..." Should she ask him, if they should practise their kiss tonight? Or should they wait with that? After all, it was not like she wanted to kiss him!

"Yeah..." he answered, sounding reluctantly.

Katara suppressed the urge to snap at him, and rolled her eyes. It's not like this was her idea! She didn't want that!

The stew was totally okay, and really didn't need further seasoning, so she decided to turn the stove off.

"What are you cooking?" Zuko asked, suddenly sounding way closer than before.

Katara turned around to see him standing right next to her, his hips leaned against the counter, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He looked at her in an interested and friendly way.

Smiling, Katara looked back in the pot. "Well, I thought I'd introduce a part of myself with the food. It's the closest thing to sea prunes stew I could make."

Zuko scrunched his nose. "You mean that thing with ocean kumquats?"

A slight smile crept up on Katara's lips, as she took two bowls from the cupboard. "Nope. I saw your face scrunching up, when I mentioned them last time, so I used sea weed and Japanese apricots to get the sea and sweet taste in it."

Looking back at Zuko, she was pleased to see that his face simply looked curious, not scrunched up this time.

"I never ate cooked Japanese apricots," he said, scratching his neck. "But I think people further east towards Lake Haiyang use it quite frequently."

Katara shrugged. "I wouldn't know. It's the first time I'm trying it like this." After filling the bowls, she placed them on the table, which was already mostly set.

"I made tea," she said, "since you always seem to drink it. Do you like Jasmine?"

It seemed like Zuko tensed shortly, but nodded nonetheless.

"My friend Toph says lately that Jasmine tea is calming, so I mostly drink it in the evening, and I have to say it really works," she babbled on, hoping her "wisdom" about tea might impress him, since he really seems to like that stuff.

"Oh, er, I actually don't really care about tea flavour," Zuko said cautiously.

Katara turned around from serving the rice. "What?"

He winced visibly. "I'm sorry. I appreciate the thought, really, and you're right, I really do like tea, I drink it all the time, it's just that the flavour isn't important to me. It all tastes the same to me, really," he rambled, while Katara kept staring at him.

Oh. Well, she did hope she would get another reaction, but at least, he said he appreciates her effort. After all, she had thought very profoundly about this evening.

"Oh, well, that's okay. As long as you like it. It's all hot leaf juice, anyway, isn't it?" she joked, since she could somehow understand what he meant. As long as it was no fancy Western, Indian or Oriental tea with the other flavours, she, too, didn't really care about the type of tea. She tasted a difference, of course, but it was not so big she could develop a favourite.

She didn't expect Zuko's grin, though. It was wide, showing his teeth, and made his eyes even smaller, but it was a look he could definitely wear more often.

"You know that my uncle had a tea shop in Ba Sing Se, right?" he suddenly said, gathering the rice bowls and went to the table, sitting down, as she set the tea pot down, after pouring them.

"Uh, yeah. I used to hang out there, because of Jet." Cocking her head to the side, she suddenly realised that Zuko's uncle had always been very friendly. She had never really considered how Iroh could be so nice, while Zuko had been such a jerk.

"When we first moved to Ba Sing Se, Uncle worked in another tea shop and complained that their tea was disgusting. He said it simply tasted like hot leaf juice." He looked at his food, not at her, as she sat down.

"Oh," Katara said, not knowing what to say to that.

"I told him that's what all tea is, and he acted like I had offended him," he went on, and Katara had to grin.

She had always thought Iroh to be a bit eccentric, and certainly too tea focused, and it was funny that Zuko apparently shared her opinion. "So we understand each other regarding tea," she concluded.

Grinning, Zuko nodded, and then looked at his meal again. "So, uh, is there any special way to eat this?" he asked.

Katara tried hard not to chuckle. "Of course not, Zuko, it is only a stew!"

His expression changed into a slight scowl. "So? You could say the same thing about hot pot, and you still don't eat it just from a bowl."

Katara tried to remember what hot pot was, and hoped that she wouldn't embarrass herself if she had to ask. But luckily, it came to her mind. Originally, it was from Southern China, but while making its way through that country, it had also found the way to Ba Sing Se. Hot pot had been considered highly popular by the kids in the Eastern Province, sitting around a table with a hole in it, in which the stew pot was put, and everyone could just throw in various ingredients. Just getting them out again was difficult. Katara had only once or twice eaten hot pot, when Sokka had dragged her along with him. Aang hadn't been a big fan, because there was so much meat which was exactly why Sokka loved hot pot. Problem was, hot pot was normally very spicy, so Sokka had always ordered a not spicy version. Katara wasn't surprised that Zuko knew it. He probably preferred the spicy one, though.

"But you have it in a bowl," Katara argued, referring to the wannabe sea prunes stew in front of them.

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Zuko took the spoon and poured the stew on the rice in the other bowl.

Okay, so there was apparently a wrong way to eat sea prunes stew. Katara had forgotten that most of the soups and stews in the Western Province, as well as in the Eastern Province were poured on rice and not just eaten directly from their bowl, while eating rice on the side. Usually, sea prunes stew was also eaten with bread, but the bread she had found in the capital was way too squishy and white.

Zuko could actually eat her stew like he wanted to, and after arguing that there couldn't possibly be a wrong way, Katara really didn't want to correct him now.

So she ate the stew the same way he did.

It didn't quite taste like Gran Gran's, or her mother's, but it was still close. It weren't only the ingredients, which had changed the flavour, but also the way Katara had made it. She just didn't make it the exact way Mum or Gran Gran had, but she didn't know the difference, actually. Maybe they added a special sauce or something like that.

Zuko seemed to taste the stew quite thoroughly, the way he chewed or shoved it in his mouth from side to side.

Katara raised her eyebrows, already prepared for a negative answer or a lie. "So, how do you like it?"

He sniffed. "It's not bad. It's just not what I'm used to with the salty and ocean flavour."

The answer didn't quite please Katara, and she had to fight the urge to snap. In her opinion it tasted really good.

"Hm, you'd rather have it spicy then?" she asked, forcing a smile on her face.

Zuko frowned, again tasting in an exaggerated manner. "Actually, no. I don't think this would work, but I'm not a culinary expert, so..." He shrugged and kept on eating.

Now she couldn't keep it in anymore. "If you don't like it, then you don't have to eat it!" she barked at him.

He stilled in his move to bring the chopsticks to his mouth.

Katara swallowed. Shit. She really should have kept her mouth shut.

Zuko slowly raised his gaze to her. "I never said I didn't like it."

"You said 'not bad'. It practically means you don't like it!" she argued, but with less venom in her voice.

His face contorted to a stern and slightly annoyed expression. "I meant that it's not bad," he explained, almost pointedly as if she were dumb. "I didn't mean that I don't like it." He looked at her, as if that would explain everything.

Now she felt a bit unsure. Was he honest? "Then do you like it?"

He nodded. "Yep. It's totally different to what I'm used to, but I like it."

Katara bit her lower lip, as he took another bite of the sea prunes stew drenched rice.

"It's good," Katara said, after she had put some rice with stew into her mouth, too. "It tastes differently than the one my grandmother made, but I guess it's okay."

Zuko smiled shortly at her.

"What's your favourite meal?" Katara asked then.

"Uh... I don't really have one." He shrugged. "There are a lot of good meals from all over the world. None really blew my mind."

Katara raised her eyebrows. Great. Her new fake-boyfriend was as emotional as a rock. How could one not have a favourite food?

"What kind of food do you associate with your childhood?" she wanted to know.

"Hm. That's all just the basic Western Province stuff. Fried and spicy. I like it, but I like other food, too."

"Are you serious?" Katara couldn't hold back anymore.

Zuko shrugged. Again!

"Okay, tell me one thing you love! Anything! And family members don't count." She would make Zuko show that he was passionate about at least something.

He frowned at that. "Uh, why?"

"Because you reacted like an unemotional rock to my question, and I can't deal with unemotional people. They're giving me the creeps," she added, so to not make it sound insulting.

Her effort was rewarded, since she made Zuko smile. "Alright. Well, I like food, but I don't love it."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I already got that. But what do you love?"

She just wanted to flinch from uncomfortableness because Zuko took very long thinking about it.

After a few seconds and a ridiculously cute looking thinking face, he answered. "Well, apart from the obvious things, I'd say that I love home, most animals, Kung Fu, sword fighting, horse riding…" He trailed off, obviously thinking about what else he loved. "Uh, music aaaaaand… art?" He grimaced as if he couldn't believe what he had just said.

Katara felt pretty surprised at the number of things Zuko loved. "Do you mean your apartment with home?"

Zuko shook his head. "No. I meant the Western Province and more specifically the Capital. I spent my childhood here, and…" Frowning, he trailed off again, staring at his stew.

Katara didn't like it when people didn't tell her things. She hated it, because whenever one would trail off, she would only want to know even more! She really tried to be patient and just stay quiet and didn't move at all. She had a feeling that if she asked him to explain more he would only recoil and not talk at all.

Her theory seemed to be right, because Zuko resumed talking after a while. "Well, everything was easier when you were a child, you know?" He suddenly looked up at her, and something about his expression made Katara worry.

She simply nodded.

"And so it was easier to be happy back then, and this is the place where that was… I guess I just like the mild weather. How it never gets really cold, and the sun shines so much. It's always very green here, and even during rainy season it's still nice." He kind of rambled at the end, looking uncomfortable, as if he needed to take that comment about his childhood away. He shrugged.

Katara wondered if she could staple his shoulders to his torso, so that he would stop doing it. He seemed so… down about this. He had smiled at her earlier, when they had just talked about random stuff, or last time they had seen each other at Coffee Cups. But even though he was now talking about things he loved, he didn't smile. She asked herself if it would be okay to ask him for a reason to this.

She decided against that and searched for something to ask about another thing he had mentioned to love. "What's your favourite animal?"

Zuko smiled. "I like lions. Or wolves."

Katara made a face. Now he smiled? Hm, maybe he wasn't so down at all. Maybe he just didn't only love his home and childhood. Maybe he held other feelings for that, too. She wondered if there had been rough times for him. Damnit, she should have asked him what it was like to grow up here! But now she was stuck with the animal topic!

"Er, really?"

"Yeah, sure. They are beautiful and majestic. Wild and free," he said, before eating some rice with stew. He was eating faster than Katara, she noticed.

She took a few bites of her food, before asking him something else. "And what animal would you like as a pet?"

"A cat. A dog, rabbits, guineas pigs, hamsters, and maybe some mice. Actually, any pet which hasn't got a better life in the wilderness." Suddenly, he looked very sheepish. "I'd actually love to have wild animals, but they are happier in the wilderness. This didn't stop me from bringing all kinds of wild animals back home, when I was a kid, though."

Katara was intrigued. She liked this shy smile on Zuko's face and wanted to know more about it. She wanted to know what made him look like this. "Really? You were that kind of kid?" she asked, grinning.

Zuko shrugged, when pink colour dusted his cheeks. "Yeah. We have a giant garden, and I found all sorts of animals in there. I didn't bring all which I could catch home, but I brought injured animals with me. I used to ask my mother what we could do to make them feel better. She said I should give them water and cover them with a blanket. Then she called the vet, and we brought the animal there. It would stay with us, until it was fully healed again. Most of those animals were actually stray cats. But I was never allowed a pet. My father thought it might distract me from more important things."

"Wow, I would have never thought you were like this." Her eyes widened, as she noticed how this sounded. "I mean, now I might think that, but back in high school I would have thought you were the kind of person who grilled ants under a magnifier," she admitted, feeling pretty bad for it. Now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't imagine Zuko ever doing something like that. If he would have been forced to do this as a kid, for example by his evil sister, he probably would have cried the whole time.

Zuko frowned at her, clearly not feeling flattered, but then one corner of his mouth went up. "I used to think that about you, too."

"What?" Katara shrieked indignantly. "How could you? I'm a totally gentle person, and I would never hurt anyone or anything!"

Zuko made a doubting face. "Yeah, if you say so."

Katara pointed her chopsticks at him. "Take that back!"

Zuko pointed at her chopsticks with his finger. "That's rude."

Katara pointed at Zuko's finger with her own. "That is, too. Don't point at me."

"You point twice at me!"

Huffing, Katara pulled her chopsticks away. Stupid Western Province with stupid eating rules.

Why would pointing at people with chopsticks be impolite? Long, small things were there to use them to point at something. Sokka and Katara had pointed a lot at each other with chopsticks back in the Southern Province. Sometimes that had led to mini fencing fights.

Zuko seemed satisfied with this, because he stopped pointing at her, and instead explained why he had thought Katara was a mean ant griller. "You always tried to make my life more difficult in high school. At some point I just imagined you would make plans how to ruin my life and rub your hands, while laughing evilly. I hated it, but I thought you might have always been a little sadistic."

"Sadistic?!"

Zuko flinched, smiling sheepishly. "Er, well, I know you smiled when I got beaten in a Kung Fu contest by a student from Long Feng High School."

Katara opened her mouth to retort. "That…" was right. She had smiled. But not because he had been beaten up, but because he had been beaten. He had always been so arrogant about Kung Fu, and when Aang started winning against him, Zuko became very obsessed with becoming better, and had started winning against the others in an almost brutal way. Katara had hated it.

"I didn't take pleasure in your pain!" she said instead. "I just liked that you lost for once. After Aang won against you, you started being mean to everyone else in Kung Fu class, and I thought you were an arsehole. You were a bit brutal during fights sometimes," she says carefully, her eyes fixed on him. She didn't know what kind of reaction she could expect, but she wanted to be prepared.

Zuko didn't went mad, and he didn't look angry. He looked more shocked, actually. And pretty embarrassed. "Okay. That is right. I was… a difficult teenager."

Katara felt relieved, but also incredibly curious. "Did you have aggression problems?"

Zuko grimaced. "Yeah… Pretty much. That's also why I was in Kung Fu class. I loved fighting, but it also served me to vent."

"Why were you so aggressive?"

"I don't really know." He shrugged. "I was just… always angry. Probably at my life or the world. A stupid teenager thing, you know."

He tried to make it sound more harmless than it was, Katara could see that. But if he wanted her to think that, then she wouldn't probe anymore. At least, not now.

"Hmh." Humming, Katara resumed eating her Japanese apricots stew.

They ate in silence, until they were finished, and then Katara couldn't contain it anymore. "Are you still aggressive sometimes?"

Zuko's eyes widened, and he looked surprised, but maybe also hurt by her question. "I…" He got a pensive look on his face. "No. I am not. I can still be an arrogant arsehole sometimes, but I don't get angry quickly anymore."

Katara knew that he could see the relief on her face, but she wasn't ashamed to show it. She just hoped he didn't feel bad about it.

"I get angry pretty quickly," Katara said, to lighten the mood probably.

Zuko smiled then. "I noticed. Okay, well, I get pretty quickly to that level of anger, too, but not to the level of wanting to fight."

Katara grimaced. "Hm, I do. It was always like that. I used to beat Sokka up, when we were kids. He could have defended himself, but he said beating girls was unmanly." She rolled her eyes. "But recently, I only get that mad at Toph."

Zuko looked beyond shocked and probably a bit frightened.

Katara quickly raised her hands. "Hey, I don't beat up a blind girl! Toph is always the one to strike first. And it's part of our friendship. It's, er, friendly fighting." She laughed nervously. Oh, that didn't make it sound better. "You know, pulling at each other's hair and stuff."

Zuko still didn't look any better.

Hm, maybe she should completely stop talking now. Or she should invite Toph next time to come over, but pretend that it was a coincidence, and then they could have one of their squabbles, and Zuko would understand that Katara was no violent person. That sounded good.

"It's just squabbling. Between friends. I'm really not a violent person," Katara explained pointedly and then crossed her arms under her chest. Pfft! Actually, Zuko could think what he wanted to! It's not like he needed to like her! They were fake dating, so liking the other one wasn't important at all.

But Katara had come to like Zuko. A little. He was kind of like one of these hurt, wild animals he had talked about. Most times she would find him cute (in an "Aww! Isn't he adorable?" kind of way, not the other way!), but then there were these times when he would coil into himself and not let anything through. Sometimes, he also just acted normally. Seldom, he had snapped at her. It bothered Katara that she was the snapper out of them both.

So it would suck if Zuko didn't like her.

He still looked doubting, but Katara didn't want to defend herself anymore. He could doubt like he wanted, she didn't care!

"Do you want a dessert?" she asked then, smiling broadly. And falsely.

This didn't seem to calm Zuko, he only looked even more alarmed. And probably disturbed. "Er..."

Katara rolled her eyes. "I was trying to change the topic. Offering dessert is something nice to do. I have ice cream, pudding, mango yoghurt, mochis, and cookies..." She trailed off, realising that if she said more this wouldn't count as "What I bought for this evening" anymore. Zuko would realise that she had a sweet tooth.

"Mochis?" came the hesitant answer. "Thanks, my forget-me-not."

Katara frowned and Zuko frowned, too.

"No, that sounds stupid," he murmured, looking at his empty bowl.

"Er... What was that?"

Zuko looked back at her. "You said I should choose a pet name for you. I thought a blue flower would be nice, but I only know forget-me-nots."

Katara grimaced. "Yeah, don't call me that. It sounds like you're worried I would forget about you the moment I see a better looking guy."

Zuko smiled in an amused way. "Yeah, you're right."

A thought occurred to Katara, and she remembered that this evening wasn't only supposed to be like a date, but that they had to pretend to be a couple. She looked Zuko in the eye and tried to think about his face in nice and praising ways to get into the right mood. Oh, his eyes were so beautifully bright and yellow (gah! Like some lizard eyes! Or cats' eyes!) like the sun, and his skin was so pale and white (and looked totally unhealthy) like the snow Katara grew up with, and his hair was so black and shiny (Yep, it was really nice hair, but still combed back! Urgh! Katara hated that style! It looked so posh!) like ebony.

She stopped her own thoughts here. If she would think any further, she would only think about Zuko as Snow White. Well, his lips were only as rosy as cherry blossoms, and not as red as blood, but there could be a resemblance. If Katara would see him sleeping in a glass coffin, she would probably try to kiss him awake.

Oh, no! Now she was thinking about kissing him! And they still had to practise that! Probably tonight! Gah!

She took a deep breath to concentrate, then reached over the table to take his hand. "So you would like a mochi then, sweetie?"

Zuko looked at her in a very confused, alarmed and slightly disgusted way.

Great. So maybe he didn't like her after all. That sucked.

"Er, yeah, sure... Cornflower?"

* * *

_It would also suck if you didn't like the chapter, so please let me know what you think! _

_**About Zuko's unemotionalness:** Don't worry, I know that Zuko is an emotional person. But he shows emotions more through being dramatic or sulky, grumpy or snapping at people. That is not how Katara understands showing emotion. She meant being enthusiastic or excited. I always thought Katara would be a person who could talk for ages about her favourite food or favourite anything else. And I just don't think Zuko could do that. He said he liked to do nothing (!) for free time, so I don't consider him a person who would be excited enough about something to talk about if for hours, or even consider it his favourite whatever of whatever topic. If he would consider something his favourite whatever of whatever topic, this would have a determined, practical, soft, or "I hate all the other things in this topic" reason. E.g. the dual dao swords are his favourite weapon, because he's really good with them. He would be fond of them, and smile softly while saying this, but that would be it. He's just not that kind of person to go on and on and on about it. (Maybe he would, if he'd be provoked, though.) I just think that Zuko is only dramatic about bad things, or his own stupidity, or fears, but not about good things. And I guess Katara would be more expressive considering good things than bad things. So, this is how you should understand "unemotional" in this chapter. It was from Katara's point of view, and Katara doesn't know Zuko well enough yet to know that he is pretty emotional, but only expresses bad feelings very strongly. _

_And Zuko was disgusted by the pet name, not by Katara. _

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _Smckoy929: _Ha, I wished that, too. Thanks for reading my story! And thank you, I could use the luck! I just hope I passed all my exams! _

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This: _Thank you! Unfortunately, we're not there yet. Katara and Zuko just made my fingers write something else than what I had planned for this chapter. If you already want to read about the practice, I would suggest to you my Zutara Month collection from this year. It's called Another Zutara Month, and Day 10 Fake Dating treats that practice.  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247: _Awww, thanks! I hope I made you smile again through this chapter:) _


	16. Chapter 15

_Hey everyone! Pooh, I finally got another chapter written! This story is developping way slower than I had thought in the beginning, but there are just things I really want to write out and not only describe. And since the chapters are rather short, I never get to write a lot at one time. _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to review! :)_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender._

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**Chapter Fifteen**

Zuko kept chewing on his lower lip, while he was drying the dishes Katara handed to him.

After the cornflower incident, Katara had seemed weirded out by him, and he didn't know what to do to make this go back to how it was before. Or maybe not how it was before, but better. They should get along in a very easy going way. He wondered why that was so difficult. In some moments, conversation with Katara seemed to come easy to him, but then his brain would totally shut down, not letting any good ideas through, and Zuko would get frustrated with himself.

"Thanks for dinner," he quickly said, as he remembered that he didn't say it yet. He turned his head to look at her, seeing how she stood very close, as they had to in this tiny kitchen.

Katara turned her gaze up at him, her eyes wide with surprise and her lips slightly parted.

Damn, why did he even notice that? It wasn't like he was paying attention to her lips. But it just was the first time she was so close to him, and looked up at him like that. Even if her whole face wasn't turned to his, he couldn't help but notice that she was very pretty.

A light smile spread her lips. "You're welcome."

"The mochis were great," Zuko went on, knowing he had already said that after eating one. "I particularly enjoyed the green tea one."

Katara grinned. "You seem to enjoy a lot of things connected to tea."

Zuko's eyes widened in shock and in slight panic. He did not! Tea was not something he always preferred to other things! The green tea mochi was just… well, good.

He felt slightly irritated at the memories which rose up in him, but he tried to push them down.

He shrugged. "Maybe," he answered evasively.

"Maybe you could cook something for us next time," Katara proposed and nudged him with her hip.

Zuko felt his body tense up for a second. Her hip… had just touched him.

Why was it that he still felt like some unexperienced teenager boy around Katara? Every time she did or said something nice, or she even touched him, he felt like his major high school crush had smiled at him! Not that he had had a major high school crush! Zuko hadn't crushed on anyone from high school. It was just a comparison. Maybe it was the fact that Katara reminded him of high school, because they had only known each other back then. Maybe it also had to do with their animosity back then, and how much it surprised him when she seemed friendly. He didn't know.

"Er… Yeah, sure. I can do that," he spluttered and pressed his eyes closed. Urgh, he was such a freak. He couldn't even answer Katara correctly. He should have said 'I'd love to', and not stutter like some idiot!

Zuko was the one paying Katara, so he should be the one in charge, but he got nervous around her, she bossed him around, and he did everything for her to not hate him again. Was that pathetic or what? Zuko just hoped it would all be over soon. He hated being pathetic, but in order to please his father he often had to bite the bullet.

"Er… Then you could come to my place, and I'd…" He wracked his brain for a meal he could present her. Katara knew Western Province cuisine, and Eastern Province, too, so… Then he suddenly had an idea. Katara had only ever been to Ethiopia outside of Elementia, but Zuko had been to so many other places. He would just cook her something from Europe, or South America, India, or Morocco, Latin America, or West Africa? Urgh, the possibilities were endless!

"I'd like that," Katara already answered, saving him from having to continue his sentence. "But please don't cook anything Western Provincial."

Zuko chuckled. "I didn't even think about that. I was thinking about cuisine from another country or continent."

She looked up at him in surprise again. "You can do that?"

Zuko shrugged. "Uncle dragged me to cooking courses in every country we had visited over the years. He loved eating, but he also wanted to know how to cook all the meals, so that he could make them here, too."

"Oh," she answered.

When she didn't say anything and just handed him silently the washed cooking spoon, Zuko wondered if he had said something wrong.

"Is your Uncle… Is he well?" Katara asked in a small voice.

Zuko frowned, drying the spoon with the cloth, as Katara cleaned the sink. "Why do you want to know?"

"It's just…" She kept scrubbing on the metal, refusing to look him in the eye. "You always talk about him in the past tense, so I wondered…"

"Oh." He stilled shortly, before sighing and putting the wooden spoon in the can with the other cooking cutlery. He turned around and leaned his butt against the counter, crossing his arms. "Actually, I have no idea how he is. I guess he's fine, because I haven't heard of him, but I don't know. We haven't talked for…" He frowned, counting. It's not even been a year. How did it feel so much longer? It was April, and Zuko had only had contact with his parents again since July last year. How on earth did it feel so much longer? He got so used to being in the capital and seeing his parents whenever he wanted that he just never noticed how little time he had actually spent with them. "… ten months."

"How so?" Katara asked, and put her blue cleaning cloth away.

Zuko worried his lower lip, before he turned around to look at Katara and shook his head. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Katara's eyes widened and seemed innocently big all of a sudden, before her lips slightly pressed together which seemed to show her sympathy. She let out a deep breath, before she nodded a bit. "Alright." She suddenly grabbed his hand. "Come one, we still have some business to do."

Zuko felt startled, and didn't even have the time to feel grateful for the change of topic, because Katara pulled him behind the curtain which hung behind the table. Zuko had known that Katara's apartment was small, but there was another door, and he had thought it would lead to her bedroom, and that the bedroom would have an adjoined bathroom. But that couldn't be the case, because Katara's bedroom was apparently behind the curtain. It still smelled of food behind the curtain.

Zuko was seated on a small bed and could see that there was also a dresser with a mirror on top of it and a clothes hanger behind the curtain. A book shelf stood next to the door which probably led only to the bathroom.

Katara sat down next to him, and he turned around, feeling surprised as she pulled one leg up to touch his thigh.

"So, Zuko," she began.

He watched her curiously, wondering where she was getting at.

"How about we cuddle a bit and talk about out childhoods, until we don't feel totally uncomfortable anymore? And then we could practise kissing. Also, you should really try to flirt with me more often," Katara added, her face contorted in a grimace that seemed to tell Zuko that he was a lost case and couldn't even flirt with the biggest slut on earth if his life depended on it.

He felt a little offended. It's not like his ability to pick up women was great, but that was probably the case due to the lack of training. Zuko had never tried to pick up a woman. But he could be cocky. He had been so with Mai several times and sometimes with Jin, although Jin had laughed at him at first, before she had played along.

So what if he was a bad actor? He just needed to be cocky. That wasn't so difficult.

Zuko scooted closer to Katara and supported himself on his left arm, leaning closer to her, until their faces were really close. She stopped talking immediately, her mouth still a bit open. He took his time and looked from her eyes to her mouth. "How about we skip the cuddling part and go straight on to the kissing part?" he said, keeping his voice hoarse.

Katara's eyes widened almost impossibly largely, before they quickly narrowed. "You just tried flirting, because I said you should do this more often, right?" she asked, as if she wasn't sure what this was about.

Zuko couldn't help but grin widely. "Yep. Just your answer still needs a little work."

Katara's nostrils widened slightly as she tried to give him an unimpressed look. "Okay, fine. We're acting tonight as if we were a couple, right? From now on. No more awkward, no more weird, and no more complicated moments? We'll just behave as if we were completely used to each other, and touching each other, and all our thoughts will be kept to ourselves?"

Zuko nodded slowly.

Katara shortly closed her eyes. "Okay, because if we were a couple, I would have called you a pervert after your skipping cuddling and kissing instead comment."

Zuko twisted his mouth. "Well, then I would have said that you can hardly blame me for wanting to kiss you, since you're beautiful and would be my girlfriend."

"Then I would have told you that flattery would get you nowhere," Katara mused. "And shoved you slightly, but gently. And I would have smiled to show you that I would just be joking."

Upon his next thought Zuko felt his body slightly heat up, as he stared at Katara's bare neck. "Then…" he rasped, lifting a hand and laying it on her shoulder. "I would have…" He had to swallow. Okay, this was a bit too embarrassing, as that he could get out full sentences. He wasn't self-confident enough to do so. "… probably… kissed your shoulder… and neck, and asked you if that would get me anywhere."

He saw how Katara took a shaky breath. His gaze was still fixed on the brown skin which showed above her light grey sweater. His thumb slightly caressed her skin. Her chest rose heavily with her breathing.

But she didn't answer anymore.

Zuko looked up at her to see her blue eyes were burning with intensity. Her cheeks were a little flushed, and her lips stood slightly open.

"What would be your answer?" he asked.

Katara stared at him and shook her head. "I don't think I could reply something smart in that situation. I might just say no. What would you do then?"

Zuko smirked. "Keep kissing you until you say yes."

Swallowing, he pulled his hand away. Heat had pooled in his stomach, and for a moment he had only thought about Katara as a woman. A woman with a nice face and body. A woman he would have to kiss tonight. A woman he wondered who would be mad, if the kiss turned into more.

But now, he saw Katara again. And Katara was not a woman who would appreciate any of this. His thoughts or intentions, his fantasies. But it's not like he could help it. Katara was pretty, and sometimes she was nice, and she was his age, and he was male and hetero, so how couldn't he think about that, when they were planning on kissing tonight all along?

But he didn't think that way about Ty Lee, so maybe there was more to that. Maybe it was because of his and Katara's history.

"Remember, we're a couple now," Katara suddenly said, her face looking determined.

Zuko nodded slowly, not really getting what she meant.

Until she leaned closer to him, that is.

Zuko's body went completely stiff, as if he were afraid Katara would draw back the moment he would move. But she didn't draw back. She stopped, right in the middle, still looking up at him.

Zuko sighed, when he got what she was doing. She was waiting for him. He looked into her blue eyes, which blinked once slowly. He closed the distance between their mouths.

His nose touched her cheek under her right eye, as their lips met.

Katara's lips were soft with a few dry spots, where he felt dry lip skin scratching his mouth. Her lower lip was plump, in fact, she had the plumpest lips he had ever kissed, and that felt… extremely good. All in all, Zuko decided that he liked Katara's lips.

She began to move her mouth against his, and he soon followed suit, feeling surprised when she lightly bit him. Did she do that on purpose? Well, it felt very good.

He leaned closer to her, adding more pressure on her lips, as he raised his hand to cup her cheek and ease his access to her mouth.

Would it be okay for her if he brought in his tongue? They hadn't talked about it, so he didn't know, but he chose rather not to do it. In the end, she would only get mad, call him a pervert and throw him out of her apartment. Okay, maybe he was dramatizing and overthinking things, but if he would try not to overthink things, then he would solely concentrate on his feelings, and however weird or awkward imagining this moment had been to him, he didn't feel any weird or awkward now. He solely felt the wish not to stop. He wanted to push this further, and he had to stop himself from doing do, because if he did, then it would completely stop.

That was when Katara's tongue touched his lips. He jerked a little from surprise and felt Katara starting to pull back. He quickly followed her, not wanting her to end the kiss, answering her tongue with his own.

Zuko's eyes were closed, as he tried hard to stay logical and analytical about this situation. He wanted to find out how Katara kissed, and if he could make it seem like real kisses in public between the two of them, but that proved to be pretty hard.

Simply concentrating on the kiss was far easier. It didn't take long for Zuko's mind to say good bye and only offer really unhelpful how-you-could-get-laid-now advices.

But analysing Katara's kiss was stupid.

She kissed him. She kissed well. She bit him a little. Her lips felt amazing. Nothing else really mattered about that kiss.

Their tongues danced together, exploring their mouths and lips, not letting any air between their mouths, as their lips were pressed together, as if someone had used super glue on them.

Instinct told Zuko to put his arms around her and pull her closer, but he didn't know how she would react to that.

The only problem was that Zuko didn't know how long he could keep kissing her, without pulling her closer, or trying to lie down on her. He got a little of her scent, and wished he could bury his nose inside of her, forever.

Their kiss became more heated, and Zuko answered Katara's passion with equal fervour. Her hands were suddenly on his thigh, grasping some of his flesh.

Zuko groaned. And then cursed himself in his head, as Katara pulled completely back, too quickly for him to follow.

Zuko slowly opened his eyes, trying to sort out his thoughts. He thought he should apologise. For groaning. He shouldn't have done that. Now she'd think he was a pervert.

His breathing still went fast and heavy, as he stared at Katara who had averted her gaze downwards. She seemed to stare at her hands, which were still on his thigh.

Zuko really hard tried to forget the feeling of the kiss or her hands grasping him like this, because he really needed to calm down. He didn't need to stay or get even more aroused. "Er… sorry, I…"

Katara quickly looked up at him again. "No, you, er… You don't need to apologise," she said, pulling her hands away from him.

He had no idea what she was thinking, but at least she didn't seem mad.

Zuko nodded slowly, wracking his brain for something to say. "Well, that was good practice," he said, but then grimaced, as he quickly turned away from her. _Good practice? _Seriously, his mouth had just said that?!

Katara hummed in agreement. "Er, yeah, it was good, which is good. I mean if we wouldn't like kissing each other, it would be super weird."

Zuko turned towards her, feeling surprised. She had liked kissing him?

Katara seemed to notice what she had said and quickly lifted her hands, shaking her head. "Not that I liked kissing _you _because of you, but you kiss well. I-I mean, I didn't feel disgusted or grossed out, not even slightly, because it was a really good kiss."

Zuko stared at her for a second, wondering if the meaning of her words was that she had expected to feel disgusted and grossed out by his kiss. He grimaced and lifted his chin a bit, as he looked at her in an offended manner.

Katara blinked. "What?"

"You thought you would feel disgusted and grossed out by me kissing you?"

Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "No! No, no, not at all! It's just…" She sighed and let her head fall down. "Sometimes I still have trouble… to think nicely of you," she quietly confessed. "I'm just so used to think the worst of you that it's still hard not to. And I don't want to think bad things about you anymore, so it is more like I hoped I wouldn't feel disgusted, because I wanted to think something nice about you."

Zuko stilled for several moments, at a total loss of words. He didn't know Katara felt like that. How could he have known?

But maybe his fear to make her hate him again was real and didn't come from a place of insecurity within him. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she still thought negatively about him in many points.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, as he stared at the ground between his feet. "Oh. Well, I get that. I have the same problem, I think."

Katara straightened up, putting a strand of hair behind her ear. "What?"

Zuko nervously licked his lips, which suddenly felt dry. "I still think that you would easily hate me. I'm afraid I would do something stupid, which would make you hate me again."

Katara stayed quiet for a while. "I'm sorry," she whispered after a while. "I don't want you to feel like that. I don't really think badly of you, I just need to get used to liking you. After you taunted me for so long for no reason, it's just hard."

Zuko stiffened. "I did what?"

Katara shot him a look. "Look, I already got that I kind of bullied you, and that was not okay, and I'm sorry, and I know you apologised for being a jerk back then, too, but you never really realised what kind of jerk you were, did you?"

Zuko frowned. "I was just mean to you, because you bullied me."

A slightly irritated expression passed her face, as she widened her eyes a bit. "That's not the whole truth, Zuko."

His frown deepened, as he looked at her as if she had grown a second head. He really had no idea what she was getting at.

Katara's face turned darker, as she glared at him a bit. "Oh please, don't tell me you forgot."

Zuko felt panic rise inside of him. This seemed like Katara would get mad at him any second, if he wouldn't know what she was talking about. And he really had no idea what it could be.

After a few seconds, Katara seemed to notice that, too. Her mouth twisted in annoyance, and her eyes seemed to sparkle of venom. "I always tried to be friendly to you at first. I had noticed you didn't have any friends, so I always smiled at you, and tried to be nice. I once even invited you to eat with my friends and me in the cafeteria! Your answer was always rough and annoyed, but I thought you were just shy and difficult." She took a deep breath. "Sokka always told me you were just an arsehole, but I didn't want to listen. I was convinced you and he would make great friends, and I don't even know why I thought that. I mean, there was nothing nice about you! Well, and then you made Aang cry, and that was it."

Zuko sat there with a half open mouth, listening intently, but feeling completely aghast. This came as a shock. "B-but we weren't even in the same year," he stuttered, lacking a good response.

Katara sighed. "I know. Sokka told me about you, and Yue said that she was sure you could be nice, and just needed friends to show you how being nice works. And I… I don't know, I thought having a friend a year above me would be cool. Of course, now I know this is kind of stupid, and this was all weird teenager logic, but… it stung. And later I think I was also mean to you to not show how affected I'd been by your constant unfriendliness." She slumped her shoulders and smoothed her hair back over her head. "Look, I was able to make friends with almost everyone I met. I had never met anyone who didn't want to be my friend for no reason. Of course, there were people who didn't like me, but that was okay, because I didn't like them, too. I just thought it would be easy with you, because you never showed any dislike towards me, so all this kind of hurt my ego, I guess."

Zuko stared at her wringing her hands and biting on her lower lip. He felt very surprised by all this. Of course, he had known that Katara had only started acting mean towards him, after he had made Aang cry, but he didn't know she had wanted to be friends with him before. Yes, she had been nice, but at that time Zuko hadn't really noticed it as something meant only for him. He had thought she was like that to all people. He had thought Katara pitied him, and that's why she invited him to eat with her. Being nice hadn't been easy for Zuko at that time. He still had had to deal with the fact that he couldn't go home and had to live with Uncle now. Maybe Katara had just approached him the wrong way.

Later, when she had been mean to him, it had come easier to him to react to her. Shouting insults at people had been easier than figuring out if someone wanted to be his friend. Glaring at people had been easier than smiling.

He just had never realised that his actions had hurt people, who would hurt him in return. Or he probably hadn't even cared back then.

"Katara…" he began, then he pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to sort out the chaos of words in his head first. "Okay, well, thanks for telling me that. Now I know what's been bothering you all this time." He took a deep breath and turned towards her. "I'm sorry. I never meant to, er, hurt you. I just didn't think about how my actions would affect other people." He sighed. "I wasn't… in a good place back then, and I didn't care much about other people's feelings. I didn't even realise you wanted to be friends. I thought you were always this friendly, to everyone. I earlier said that I had aggression issues, and being friendly wasn't easy for me in high school."

Katara scowled. "You were friendly with Toph, and you got friends with Jet," she held against him.

Zuko grimaced in an embarrassed way. "Well, Toph was… always surprising, and… I don't know. She wasn't friendly to me or anything, and maybe I liked her because of that. I didn't have to be friendly with her either. I could be my grumpiest, angriest, most emo self with her around, and she would just laugh, as if I had said something funny. Besides, that was two years _after_ I made Aang cry."

Katara rolled her eyes.

"And with Jet, it was weird. None of us wanted to be friends with the other one. We always insulted each other, and annoyed one another… But out chemistry teacher back then didn't like us, so we had a common enemy, and started playing pranks at him. That was funny," he said in a thoughtful tone, shrugging.

Katara seemed to think about that. "So you say, if I had insulted you rather than be nice to you, we would have become friends?" she asked in an incredible voice.

Zuko frowned. "No, I mean you were mean to me later, and we didn't become friends. I don't know, Katara. But we can be friends now. If you accept my apology, and stop thinking the worst of me."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Sure. I'd like that."

Oh, the relief he was feeling! Somehow her acceptance made him happy, and he hoped they could improve the way they treated each other from now on. A brand new, easy going friendship!

Zuko smiled back and just wanted to answer, as she leaned closer and hugged him.

He stilled. Her breasts were touching his chest. That was good and so bad in two different ways. He couldn't notice her breasts, when they were sure as hell never going to be more than friends. Zuko didn't have a lot of female friends, but he had never noticed Ty Lee's, Toph's, or Smellerbee's breasts.

Katara squeezed him around his waist. "Hug me back!" she ordered.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Zuko put his arms around her, his hands lying flat on her back.

Katara let him go and leaned back, and he quickly let his arms drop to his sides again. She grinned at him. "That means that I will be nice to you from now on. And don't you dare push me away again!" She poked her finger in his chest.

Zuko smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it. I'm really looking forward to you being nice to me. Now I will be able to really enjoy it."

Katara laughed a bit and pulled at her braid. "Alright. Now, I think you still owe me some cuddling and talking about out childhoods."

"While we act like we were a couple?" he asked hesitantly.

Katara twisted her mouth and nodded. "Yes. We haven't been excelling at this tonight."

Zuko grinned. "I honestly think I was better."

Katara huffed. "This isn't a competition!"

Zuko chuckled, then put his arm around her. "Yeah, now, talk about your childhood."

Katara pushed his arm off her and scooted backwards on the bed, pulling at his hand to show him that she wanted him to follow her. "You have no idea what cuddling really means, do you?"

Zuko felt his cheeks warm in slight embarrassment. "I just didn't want to cross a line or anything."

Katara was still smiling, as she positioned him on her bed, and then used his armpit to snuggle close. "Now that's cuddling," she explained to him.

"Ah."

She wiggled around a bit, until her head lied on his shoulder.

Zuko's left arm was wrapped around her, pressing her into his side, and his right hand lied flat on his stomach, close to Katara's left one. He noticed that Katara's sweater was very soft. He liked touching it, and absentmindedly started stroking it, thus her.

"Huh, you're comfy," Katara said.

"Thanks?"

"I mean, I didn't think you would be comfy with…" She trailed off, playing with the fabric of his Longsleeve.

"What?"

She sighed. "Well, you're quite muscular, and I didn't think that would be comfy. I thought it would be hard and edgy and as if you were trying to cuddle with a concrete wall."

Zuko grimaced. "Er…"

"Take it as a compliment," said Katara.

"O-okay." He still felt a bit weird about this and wondered if she would want him to stop training. But even if he did, he still did sports, so he probably wouldn't get soft shoulders at all.

"What did you prefer as a child? Playmobile or Lego?"

Zuko looked down at Katara to see her looking up at him, her eyebrows raised. He smiled and opened his mouth to answer.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!:)_

_I actually had wanted some the gaang with Zuko moment in here, but the chapter just got too long, due to Katara's feelings, so I decided to split it. I hope I can have that moment in the next chapter:) _

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: I'm glad you found the last chapter funny. I always worry that I'm not good with humour in stories, since I think it is a very important part which makes a story more entertaining. Now, sorry, for a more serious, but necessary and embarrassing chapter. I hope you liked it, though. :)  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Okay, well, this first practice turned out different from the one I wrote about in my Zutara Month collection, but it kind of wrote itself. I was thinking about using the piece I already had written for Zutara Month, but that was from Katara's point of view, and I very much wanted to write this from Zuko's POV, since the last chapter was already from Katara's, so... Yeah, now this is it. I hope you liked it:)  
_


	17. Chapter 16

_Hi everyone! I actually wanted to update this story only after updating _Love of Fire and Water_, but this took too much time, so I finished this chapter today. And as promised, I've finally written some Zuko with the gaang!_

_Thank you all for sticking with me! I know I'm not updating very often, and getting e-mails telling me that other stories I'm following have been updated almost makes me feel extremely guilty. As I have so much time right now, I know I should update more often, and currently I'm totally blaming Harry Potter fanfiction for this. I just started reading it two weeks ago, and I'm desperately searching for a great and satisfying Dramione fic. I've been reading so many different stories that they all already get mixed up in my head... Yeah, so I was more reading than writing. I'm sorry. _

_I hope you're all staying healthy and safe! _

_I do not own Avatar The lAst Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen **

"Sooo… Are you okay with this?" Katara asked, skidding closer to Zuko after listening to Toph's voicemail.

He sat at the head of his bed, looking at her curiously and raised his arm to allow her to cuddle up next to him and lay her head on his shoulder. During the last week, they had met almost every evening, talking, getting to know each other, and practising kisses and closeness. In the beginning it felt always still awkward, but throughout the evening Katara felt more at ease. She had to get used to meeting with a friend who she would have to and liked to kiss.

"It'll be Sokka and Toph, right?" Zuko asked.

Katara bit on her lip. Not only, no. Sokka had sent Katara a message about how he wanted to get to know Zuko better before introducing him to their parents, but he had sent this message into the WhatsApp group with Toph and Aang. So Aang knew, too. And Aang wanted to get to know Zuko, too, and he also wanted to meet with all of them. Katara understood, since she had missed seeing him with Toph and Sokka, too. Without Aang, it just felt wrong.

"Er… Well, no. Aang will be there, too," she mumbled.

Zuko had been playing with strands of her hair, as his grip tightened. He didn't pull, but she felt the tightening and wondered what exactly it was about Aang that he didn't like.

"Oh, erm…" He resumed caressing her hair and shifted a bit. He cleared his throat. "Why?"

Katara sighed and took one of the cords of his sweater to twirl it in her hands. She had been surprised upon seeing him in a hoodie, since he normally only wore dress shirts, polo shirts, and wool sweaters. When she had pointed it out to him, he had scowled and said he also owned casual clothing. Katara had grinned.

"Well, he said he'd like to get to know you, and that he missed hanging with Sokka, Toph, and I," she replied as casually as she could.

Zuko sighed dramatically, as he sat up straighter and softly pushed her away to look into her eyes. "Katara, if you don't want to do this anymore, because you have still feelings…"

She sighed exasperatedly. "How often do I have to tell you that I don't have feelings for him anymore? We're just friends. And he will be there as a friend!"

Zuko frowned. "Well, but he's your ex. And you were the one to break up, so he might still have feelings for you."

"But I don't. And Aang will be okay."

Zuko ran a hand through his hair. It was combed back but a few strands were hanging onto his forehead. It looked great. Katara really much wanted to pull him under a shower to wash the hair gel out and ruffle the hair more. If just all his strands would be falling freely…

Katara liked those few strands. He looked way better like that. With his hair down and this hoodie…

"It's just… If I would ever try to get to know the new boyfriend of my ex, then only because I still had feelings for her, and would like to know who my competition was."

"Well, you were never friends with your exes then, were you?" Katara probed.

Zuko sniffed.

She almost wanted to punch him. Somehow his reaction made her incredibly angry. Was he too good to be friends with his exes? Had he maybe not liked them for their personality, too?

"Aang and I were friends, before we got together, and we will stay friends," she said forcefully.

Zuko seemed to comply, as he looked down at the mattress. "Okay, it's just that I… fear you might develop feelings for him again, if he'll be around so much. And then you will quit. And I won't be able to find anyone else like you, besides, now we're close to going public, and after we will, I can't just show up with another girl a few weeks later." He sounded frustrated, as he ran his hand through his hair again.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Well, we're not there yet. And I can assure you that I won't fall for Aang again. I've been there, and I don't want to have it again. Nothing would change after a few months of separation."

His jaw tightened, the muscle twitching as he glared at his wardrobe. "Okay, fine. I mean, I can't really do anything, can I?"

Katara grinned. "No, you can't."

oOo

It was strange, but not totally weird.

Okay, no, it was.

Introducing Zuko to her friends as her boyfriend seemed to be a pretty crazy thing. Considering their past in high school.

But here she was, doing just that.

"Nice t' see ya again," Toph said, punching against Zuko's upper arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" he snarled.

Well, that didn't start so well. Katara grabbed Zuko's hand, before he could get even angrier at Toph. It wasn't like it was difficult.

"She's showing affection like this," Katara said to him, pulling him towards the couch of Toph's apartment.

If it was up to her, Zuko would never meet her friends, and she was sure that he felt the same way about it. But they had insisted. Toph had been simply curious and clearly looking for some kind of drama and gossip, and Aang wanted to make sure that she was happy.

At first, Katara had felt strange about the fact that Aang would be getting involved, but after Zuko had been so iffy about it, she simply felt okay with it, because. Besides, Aang had already known for two weeks that she was "dating" Zuko. So she hoped it would all go well.

Now, it really paid off that Zuko and she had already practised behaving like a couple, so it didn't feel strange when Zuko put his arm around her shoulder. By now, Katara had the feeling she would feel strange if Zuko wouldn't put his arm around her shoulders. The only weird thing was that he was doing it in front of people.

"So, Zuko," Sokka, who sat across from them, said, as if Zuko wasn't his real name.

"Yeah?"

"You're taking good care of my baby sister?"

Katara wanted to face palm.

The biggest problem was that Zuko couldn't lie. Every time he had tried to lie to her to cover up something embarrassing to him, she had noticed. He would widen his eyes, which would move around, as if he was looking for the answer to be hidden somewhere, sometimes he stammered, or blushed, and mostly he didn't look her in the eye.

"Yes," said Zuko sternly.

Katara rolled her eyes and squeezed his hip. He had to smile, when he was saying something like that. After all, they were supposed to be in love.

Zuko didn't even flinch, she had to give him credit for that. He strengthened his hug around her, until it was almost painful, in return.

"No one needs to take care of me," Katara objected, wiggling her shoulders to lessen the strength of Zuko's grip.

"I try, whenever she lets me," Zuko said to that, which surprised her. That was actually a good answer.

How she knew him, he was probably dying inside from nervousness and awkwardness.

Toph cackled quietly.

Sokka raised his eyebrows. "And you're treating her well?"

Before Zuko could say anything more, Katara had had enough of this nonsense.

"Gosh, Sokka stop it! You're embarrassing yourself!" Katara growled.

"If I wouldn't, she wouldn't be with me," Zuko said simply and shrugged, before looking at her and smiling.

Katara felt surprised. She had thought he'd forget all about the smiling. And his smile looked pretty real. As if he suddenly was a good actor. Or his smile was real... It looked so soft. Shit, was she blushing?

Katara quickly turned away to clear her throat and hide her pink cheeks, only to realise then that her reaction was completely wrong. So she slowly turned to Zuko again, looking at him from under her lashes. "Yeah, that's true, honey." She smiled up at him and imagined how she would tip his nose, if they were a real couple. Zuko would probably look completely startled and aghast at such an action. She had to rein in her inner laughter.

Zuko managed to smile wider, before turning back around to Sokka.

Sokka was still supporting his elbows on his thighs, keeping his chin in one hand and eying Zuko critically. "You know, when we ran into you all those weeks ago, and I would have known that this is going to happen, I wouldn't have left you two alone," he said, light venom in his voice.

Toph, who was sitting on the armchair's rest next to him, smacked him over his head.

"Ouch!" Sokka yelled, and Katara saw how Zuko's mood lightened a lot. He actually grinned a little.

"Stop being an idiot, Sokka," Toph said grumpily.

Sokka smirked up at her. "Since you show affection with punching, and that hurt a lot, you must actually loooo..."

Aang jumped up at that. "Okay, who wants to get some noodles?" His voice was loud, and it was obvious he wanted a change in topic.

"Sokka, I thought you would go shopping with Toph this afternoon?" Katara scolded. The plan for tonight was cooking in Toph's kitchen with the things that she and Sokka would have already bought. "Did you end up in the arcade again?"

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, the arcade..."

Katara frowned. Sokka was not acting guilty. That was strange.

"That's why we gonna get noodles," Aang said again, making a motion with his arms to the door.

"But I thought we could all cook and eat here!" Katara objected, hating how whiny her voice sounded.

"Stop complaining, Sweetness," Toph rolled her eyes and made a hand motion.

Katara hated that nickname. She hated it with the intensity of a thousand suns. She hated how nothing about this evening actually went like she wanted it to! He friends were being impossible right now!

Zuko cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtfully at Toph.

"Don't even think about it!" Katara cried out, smacking Zuko lightly on his chest.

He jerked up, and turned towards her, his cheeks burning red. "I didn't think about anything," he mumbled.

"Er, what was this about?" Sokka asked with all the subtlety of a raging rhino.

Zuko's cheeks burned even redder now.

Katara's eyes widened. Oh shoot. No one could know of the search for a pet name, or she would hear ridiculous pet names for the rest of the evening!

"Nothing," she shrieked, then chuckled slightly, ruffling Zuko's hair. She hoped she could get it out of that ridiculous style. He combed it back again! She really, only for once, wanted to see it in a normal state. Maybe she would have to surprise him, when he just woke up. A picture of a just woken up Zuko popped into her head. His hair all a mess, hanging into his eyes, only wearing sleeping pants, and such a cute, confused, tired look on his face...

She blushed furiously. Oh no! How could she think that? She tried to reason this with the fact that they had practised kissing almost every night this week, and maybe her body reacted to its lack of any recent snogging with perverted daydreams. Or would that be her mind?

A few strands of his hair actually did fall on his forehead.

"Katara, stop!" he complained, and took her hand out of his hair.

Everyone else looked strangely at them. They were not acting like a couple! Shoot, she needed to do something couply to him.

She leaned in closer, taking him off guard, but he didn't lean away. "You'd look way hotter with messy hair, you know," she whispered, and hoped that no one else could hear it.

His eyes widened almost comically, and she could see how his gaze suddenly dropped.

Not onto her lips, as she thought first. But onto her décolleté.

Katara tried very hard not to shove him away for being pervy.

Fortunately, Zuko looked back up really quickly, and smirked a little.

"You could make it messy later," he replied, and Katara felt something really, really strange.

It was nothing inexplicable, really. It was just that he smirked, right there in front of her face, like really close, and his eyes were so golden and kind of sparkling in that moment, and his voice sounded veeeeery raspy as he said that, with that smirk evident in his voice, and it sounded sooooo flirty, and that was a little too much Zuko-being-inadvertently-hot for one evening.

Because Katara's heart suddenly beat faster at the thought of messing his hair up that way. And she felt like she was blushing. And her lips opened.

She tried to make that weird moment go away by chuckling quietly.

"Oi, get a room!" Toph shouted, grinning.

"Never ever do that in front of me again!" Sokka wailed, going down on his knees, and lifting his hands to Zuko and Katara. "Please! I'd do anything! I just never ever want to see you all in each other's faces again!"

"Guys! The noodle shop closes in two hours, and you know how hard it is to get a table, and to stop Sokka from..." Aang piped up.

Katara smirked at Sokka's antics. "Really? Everything?"

Sokka nodded.

"So you wouldn't like us doing this?" She quickly cupped Zuko's left cheek and turned his face towards her. She gave him the practised we-have-to-kiss-now-look. He nodded once, but didn't look happy about it.

Katara always thought Zuko would feel much more at ease with kissing in public, because he had done that with his ex-girlfriend. But since he didn't have those feelings for her, he was actually quite shy. However, she just gave him a task, and Zuko was determined as always.

Katara still felt weird, kissing someone in front of her friends and brother. She never would have done that with Aang. On the cheek, yes, but not on the lips.

She pressed her lips onto Zuko's, grabbing his shirt with her other hand to pull him closer.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Sokka yelled and quickly pulled them apart.

Zuko scowled at Katara. She glared back.

Why was he even looking like that? He had just given her the okay look for the kiss. This was her idiot brother, and she would deal with him the way she thought it was good! She knew that Zuko would have rather continued the interrogation, but Katara had wanted to get her brother to fuck off her fake boyfriend!

"Please don't get all gross in front of me!" Sokka said again. "I'm your older brother, I'm not fit to see such things!"

She just wanted to answer, when Zuko nodded. "Okay, Sokka."

Katara stemmed her hands on her hips. "What?"

Zuko cringed. "I get the not-wanting-to-see-your-younger-sister-doing-something-like-that-feeling," he explained, but looked apologetically at her.

Sokka turned towards Zuko with wide eyes, then he suddenly smirked. "Ah, Azula right?" He nodded to himself. "That girl was hot as..."

Zuko suddenly jumped up and pressed his hands to his ears, singing "Lalalalallala! I can't hear you!"

Sokka stopped talking about Azula, and looked at Katara, with raised eyebrows.

Katara felt a bit weirded out, but sighed, as if she found Zuko adorable. "He can be such a dork," she gushed and felt that this felt kind of true. Zuko could be a dork, and she liked it. Not enough to gush about him, of course, but... It was nice. Cute.

She stood up to pull his hands from his ears. "It's okay. Sokka stopped talking about Azula," she said softly.

Zuko let out a very relieved sigh and put an arm around her waist, to her astonishment.

"Look, Sokka. How about a deal? I don't kiss Katara in front of you, and you don't talk about what guys think about Azula," he proposed.

"Only on the lips!" Katara interjected, before blushing a little. "I mean, Sokka, you have to let Zuko kiss me on the cheeks, at least." This was not strange behaviour for Katara. And she didn't feel like she wanted Zuko to kiss her cheeks, after all. That is just what she would have said, had they really been a couple.

Sokka looked between the two of them for a while, then sighed, and let his head drop in defeat. "Fine. But whenever I see you going up in her face, I'll talk about Azula's hotness!"

Zuko grimaced. "Fine."

"You're such a hypocrite," Katara snarled at Sokka.

Sure, Sokka's ex-girlfriend Yue hadn't wanted to show much affection with Sokka in public, but he had wanted it a lot, and she had never pushed him back, only if Sokka was being impolite.

"Yeah, the way you were with Yue?" Aang adds. "Even I found it gross and not sweet anymore."

Toph chuckled a bit.

Sokka got indignant, Aang got cheeky, and then there was chasing, until Sokka hit his leg on a couch leg. He whined a lot about it, and Toph walked over to him.

Katara made an oh-no-what's-coming-now-face.

"Get your lazy ass up, Sokka! We're going to get noodles now!" Toph yelled.

"With beef?"

Toph crossed her arms. "You can have beef," she said in an annoyed voice.

Katara raised her eyebrows. Wow, that was very gentle behaviour of Toph. Telling Sokka to get something to eat when he was hurt was the best way of making him happy again.

"Okay," he murmured and let his foot touch the ground again. He flinched a little, and Katara rolled her eyes.

She then looked up at Zuko, who still had his arm around her waist. "Are you okay with noodles?"

He smiled andleaned closer. "It's probably better than whatever those two would have made," he whispered, nodding in Toph and Sokka's direction.

Katara frowned. "Well, you're probably right, but if they had done what I told them to do and gone SHOPPING, actually I would have cooked here. These two can't cook to save their lives."

Sokka and Toph looked in their direction when Katara raised her voice, while Aang rolled his eyes and started walking towards the entrance door.

"Then how do they live without you?" Zuko asked sarcastically.

Katara shrugged. "Fast food."

Zuko grimaced. "They should learn how to cook. It's not fair on you to do that."

Toph had taken to sarcastically and mockingly care for Sokka's leg who just glared at her, while putting his jacket on. Aang wore his typical yellow and orange poncho with the red balaclava that had a light blue arrow on top. Toph quickly changed, too, then turned to snap at Katara and Zuko.

"Oi! Would you get ready? Some people here are hungry!"

Katara blushed, as she pulled away from Zuko to grab their jackets from the wardrobe in the hallway. Zuko had worn a suit coat, and Katara a wool jacket.

Once Katara slung her bag over her shoulder, Sokka opened the door. "Finally," he groaned and rushed out of the door.

* * *

_I hope you liked this chapter:) _

_Reviews mean the world to me, so please let me know what you think:D_

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This: _Thanks!:D_

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Thanks, and no, everything's okay with Iroh. Zuko and him just didn't have any contact as Zuko decided to be what his father wanted him to. I wrote that in the prologue, so it's been sixteen chapters ago. We're practically in a beginning-of-book-three state. But Iroh is well, not imprisoned. He still lives in Ba Sing Se, running his tea shop, with contacts in the capital to keep an eye on his brother and nephew. He's worried about Zuko and would never want Ozai to hurt Zuko again. _

_To _Darklady_: Thanks so much! Here it is! Sorry for the wait:) _

_To _Smckoy929_: Here it is. Sorry for the long wait... I hope you liked the chapter. _


	18. Chapter 17

_Hi everyone! I'm so glad I was able to write the next chapter rather soon, but don't get your hopes up! It might not stay like this. _

_This chapter is about the gaang going to the noodle place they mentioned in the chapter before. So this starts where the last chapter ended. And as a surprise, the whole gaang will be present:D _

_I hope you're all staying safe and healthy! _

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. _

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

The noodle place was… okay, at least. It was not a completely cheap take away restaurant, although one could get take away. Zuko was pretty glad Katara's friends had not decided on take away, but had wanted to sit at a table in the restaurant.

It was a small table, one end directly at the window, with Sokka on the other end, Toph and Aang to his right, and Katara and Zuko to his left. The seating annoyed Zuko very much, because it seemed like Sokka was the one in charge. And from observing him and Katara, Zuko knew that Sokka would never be in charge.

After telling Toph and Aang what he had done after high school, and what he was doing now, it was Aang's turn to talk about his years after high school. Zuko tried to look interested, but since it was the exact same story as Katara's, it was just not as fascinating, as if he had heard it for the first time. But maybe Zuko still had a problem with being nice to Aang.

Toph's story was way more interesting. She had been two years below Zuko in school, but he had still noticed her through her behaviour, and of course because she was blind. Even such a lone wolf as Zuko had noticed the cane. More than once had she hit his legs with it, until Zuko had thought she did it on purpose. Answering his accusation, she had simply shrugged and grinned, saying: "You can see the stick. I can't. So move, if you don't want to be hit."

Zuko had thought about arguing, but had let it be. It didn't do any good arguing with Toph Beifong. From then on she had sat at his table during lunch break pretty often, and Zuko wondered how she managed to find him. He didn't ask her, though, and although she was a younger, tiny, blind girl, who was way too blunt, Zuko enjoyed her company. It was nice not sitting alone all the time.

"My parents let me control my trust after I turned eighteen. So I had the money to travel as a blind person. Our state doesn't just give travelling companions to blind people, so without money it pretty much sucks being blind and wanting to travel." She shrugged. "I first went to China, then to India, where I met a funny old man from Ba Sing Se who was also travelling. For a while we stuck together, we hiked in the Himalaya and visited monasteries. I learned some of their martial arts. Pretty cool," Toph hummed, nodding to herself, before sticking one finger in her ear and turning it around.

Zuko frowned in horror and disgust.

Toph's finger made a squelching sound.

Oh gods! How could she do that? They were eating for gods' sake!

She'd never done that before with him around!

Apparently, he wasn't the only one completely appalled by this, as Aang skidded further away on his chair, and Sokka and Katara grimaced in a very similar way.

Toph smudged her earwax on her napkin with gusto, not once, but five times, until she was positive that nothing was left on her finger.

"The monks made great tea. Seemed to be pretty important to the old guy, too. I left him there, but he wrote me some letters. Now he's back in Ba Sing Se. After seeing my parents for a little while, I decided to move here, because all my friends are here, and I would kill myself if I had to live with my parents any longer. The end," she smiled sweetly, before drinking some of her wine.

It was cheap, smelling rice wine that Zuko would have never touched.

He didn't get it. Toph was from a rich family, just like him, but it seemed her upbringing had been more inspired by animals. Or maybe she just hadn't responded well to the upbringing in a high social class. Even if it did make Zuko sound posh, he would very much rather be seen as a posh idiot than drinking that wine and behaving like Toph.

He was pretty sure that the tea he had ordered was bad, too, but since it was tea, he didn't really taste any difference between this one or Katara's or even Uncle's.

What Zuko did taste was his meat. He tried hard not to grimace, but it was way too done. He had said medium rare, but this couldn't even classify as medium anywhere! He was inclined to complain to a waiter, but he didn't want to ruin the evening for Katara, nor did he want to give Sokka another reason to think about him as an arrogant, spoiled rich guy.

But, what could he expect from a run-of-the-mill noodle place? They probably only concentrated on the noodles and not on the meat and vegetables. And well, the noodles were good.

Katara and Sokka had both chosen ramen, as they weren't spicy, Aang had chosen fried noodles with vegetables and tofu, and Toph had wanted udon with roasted duck. Sokka made it a sport to steal all the duck pieces from Toph's table, which she, of course, didn't notice.

Zuko had almost complained, when Katara squeezed his arm. "That's always like this," she had whispered.

Didn't make it fair, though. He almost cringed, and couldn't believe that Katara, who always stood up for any small sign of injustice, let her brother steal food off a blind girl!

"She knows he's doing that, don't worry," Katara went on whispering.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

After catching up with each other, the conversation fortunately turned completely away from Zuko. Katara and Sokka bickered, Toph threw in sarcastic remarks and insults, while Aang was always trying to include Zuko in the conversation. He always asked "What do you think, Zuko?" or "What's your opinion on the matter?" or "Would you agree, Zuko?".

At first, Zuko had been very surprised that Aang of all people was trying to include him, but after a while Zuko suspected that Aang was just trying to seem like a good and nice friend to Katara. The more he tried to be nice to Zuko, the less anyone would think he still had feelings for Katara. The only problem was that Zuko couldn't see if Aang still had feelings for Katara. The way the bald boy looked at her could seem longing, but it could also just be friendly. Zuko wasn't good with faces and looks.

While Sokka was coughing from almost choking on broth, Toph picked her next piece of duck and… put it on her napkin, on top of her earwax. She smeared it around, then put it back on her plate.

Zuko stared, completely aghast, waiting for Toph to eat it so that he could finally excuse himself, tell Katara her friends were nuts, and leave, and never come back.

Instead, Sokka picked her duck with his chopsticks, grinning, because he thought he had managed to steal all of Toph's meat without her noticing it, and put it in his mouth.

Aang and Katara busied themselves with their own food, Toph seemed completely nonchalant, and Zuko couldn't stop staring at Sokka chewing the disgusting thing.

Katara quickly turned Zuko's head to her, and he almost jerked away. Did Katara put her fingers in her ears, too? Or her nose?

"Wait for it…", she whispered.

And very soon, Toph let out a triumphant scream.

Zuko turned around, seeing Sokka wide eyed, before he quickly stared gagging.

Katara, Toph, and Aang were all laughing loudly, really loudly, everyone could hear them, and it totally confused Zuko. Sokka hit the table with his hand, as gagging didn't work, and grabbed his coke to rinse his mouth, but still swallowed the content.

They were acting like… a bunch of animals. Wild, untamed, loud, and impolite animals. Zuko couldn't believe Katara hung out with people like these. He couldn't believe she found it funny.

"I win!" Toph howled. "No one can fool the Blind Bandit, you moron!" she cackled before frowning at Zuko. "Did this appal you, Prince Zuko?" she asked mockingly.

Zuko tensed. He knew she probably just called him that because he acted like a… posh, uptight person, but sometimes it felt strange being called this because he actually could be a prince. He was the descendant of emperors, and only the removal of their line from the throne had stopped it. If he had to guess, it was exactly why Toph chose this name to mock him.

He blinked at Toph, feeling confused and so much out of place. "Er…"

"It's disgusting!" Sokka growled. "Right, Zuko? Oh gods, Toph, please tell me it wasn't your bogey!"

Toph grinned. "Nope. It was my earwax this time."

Sokka retched again, only to drink up his drink afterwards.

Katara wore a nervous smiled, as she guided Zuko's attention back to her. "Okay, look. Sokka is crazy for meat, but most of the meaty meals in this city are super spicy, so he always orders less meaty meals, and then steals Toph's meat. In the beginning she didn't notice and thought the service was bad. I talked to Sokka first, but he didn't stop, and then I talked to Toph and this is how she handles it. They're both too stubborn to stop."

"I'll stop, when he stops stealing my meat," Toph growled, pointing her chopsticks at Sokka.

Zuko winced. Oh, the table manners!

"I'll stop, when Toph stops making her meat disgusting," Sokka held against it. and Zuko frowned.

"And as if you'd stop stealing perfectly fine, non-disgusting meat," Zuko drawled sarcastically. "I think you'd eat it even if she would fart on it." It was a half sarcastic statement, and a half insulting one. He wasn't sure, after all, if Sokka wouldn't eat fart meat.

Everyone started laughing. Sokka probably the loudest, but everyone found what he'd said amusing, and he couldn't even understand it. It wasn't funny what he'd said, just his opinion.

"That's a good idea. Thanks, Zuko," Toph beamed at him. It was a genuine smile.

Sokka pointed at Zuko with his chopsticks and slumped a little. "You know, you're funnier than I thought. But if I'm ever going to eat Toph farts meat, I'll hold you responsible for it."

"As long as you'll do it with your breath five meters away, I don't care," Zuko answered, shrugging.

Aang, Katara, and Toph started laughing again, and even Sokka seemed to fight a smile.

Sokka lifted his glass. "To Zuko. Once, he made us cry, but today he's made us laugh."

"Hear, hear!"

"To Zuko!"

He was not blushing. Not at all. No. And there was no nice, warm feeling inside of him. Uh-uh.

Later in the evening, Zuko excused himself to go to the loo. He had to have a few quiet moments without the loud people out there. He didn't know if he should find Katara's friends endearing or completely disgusting. They obviously were completely gross, but there was something to them… Maybe the way they treated each other, how easily they laughed… It was foreign, but it was nice.

After relieving himself, Zuko took a long time to wash his hands, and then splashed some water in his face to calm down a little. It wouldn't take long now, and he could go. He could leave these crazy people behind and be alone with Katara…

He frowned. Why would it calm him to think about being alone with Katara? She was one of the crazy people! She might be less crazy, but still. Even if she wasn't, being alone with Katara shouldn't be something Zuko was looking forward to. It was an obligation. A work arrangement. Well, Katara worked, Zuko… was the client. Okay, that sounded strange. Maybe he should talk to her about how they could privately refer to each other.

He sighed, rubbing his pale, even, unblemished face, as the door opened, and Aang entered, smiling, when he saw Zuko.

Zuko nodded in greeting, thinking Aang would go to one of the stalls, but instead he kept standing behind him, staring at him in the mirror. "You want something?" Zuko asked, and cringed inwardly. He already sounded so impolite.

Aang scratched his neck, smiling nervously.

He didn't know why, but somehow Aang seemed even taller than those few weeks ago. Was Aang taller than him now? Zuko didn't like Aang's bald head. It made him look shady in Zuko's opinion. With a few tattoos, Aang would look fitting for jail. Okay, not really, there was still too much niceness in Aang's face, but still.

"Hey, er, listen. I feel like there's something uncomfortable between us, and I'd like to remove that," Aang started.

Zuko frowned, then straightened and turned around to face Aang. "Uncomfortable?"

"Yeah. You seem distanced. Like there's a wall around you."

Zuko stared. He blinked, and hoped he wouldn't grimace or roll his eyes. That would make him seem even more impolite.

He grimaced and rolled his eyes. "We don't know each other. How can I be distanced then?"

Aang sighed. "Well, let me say it like this. It seems like you don't want to know me."

Zuko bit on his lower lip. Well, what could he say to this? It wasn't as if Aang hadn't got it right. But he couldn't just admit this, could he?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out an exasperated groan. "Okay, listen. We don't have the best history. And you're my girlfriend's ex, who is still her friend. Do you see any reason for me to want to get to know you?"

"I'm sure Katara would like it," Aang answered, smiling and bobbing up and down, his hands clasped behind his back.

Did he know what he'd just said? This bald guy looked so innocent, but at the same time he uttered threats with a smile! Zuko felt a snarl approaching, as Aang cocked his head to the side.

"Besides, Katara's and your history isn't great, either, and now you're a couple!" he exclaimed, still smiling and throwing his arms out. "So I don't see why we can't try to be friends…" He leaned a bit forward, raised his eyebrows and grinned wider.

Maybe he overestimated Aang. Maybe Aang really just wanted to be Katara's friend. Maybe there was no threat, simply because he did something Katara would like, and Zuko was more reluctant to agree to it. Maybe Aang really just wanted them to be friendly to each other, since they probably had to see each other more often now.

Zuko sighed. It didn't mean he would let his guard down, but maybe it was genuine.

"Okay."

Aang grinned even wider, and jumped a little. "Wow, really? This is super cool! We could meet Saturdays, and we could practise Kung Fu together and…"

Zuko's eye started to twitch, as he took a step forward. "We won't," he said lowly. "We can be on friendly terms, we can even try to be friends, but there won't be anything about Kung Fu. Is that understood?" His ego was still pretty punched by Aang. And now that the Mountainer was even as tall as him, Zuko was sure it would only be harder to win in a match. He didn't need another kind of humiliation in his life.

"Okay, what else do you do on Saturdays?" Aang asked, leaning forward curiously.

Zuko wanted to get out to Katara, but he found himself thinking. "Normally I do some kind of outdoor sports. Climbing, hiking, or parkour."

"You do parkour?" Aang gasped.

Zuko frowned. "Yes?"

"That's amazing! I love backflips!"

Zuko took a deep breath, looking more closely at Katara's ex. He might have grown in height, but he still behaved like an overenthusiastic child. He hadn't changed a lot since high school, just like Sokka.

"It's funny how you didn't change after high school," Aang commented. "Apart from being nicer. Thanks for that, by the way, although I guess you're doing it for Katara."

Zuko shrugged. "Part of it, yeah. But I was an ass in high school, so it's not difficult to become nicer."

Grinning, Aang nodded. "Are you going back?" He pointed at the entrance door to the loo.

"Yeah."

Aang's smile turned a little sheepish. "Okay, well, I still gotta…" He pointed at the stalls.

Zuko simply grunted, walked past Aang and out of the loo.

Back at the table, Sokka and Toph were surprisingly quiet, while Katara didn't even say a thing. Zuko frowned as he walked back to them, only to find out what was happening.

A pretty waitress with short, auburn hair stood at their table, writing down Sokka's order for dessert. Sokka had leaned back in his chair, one elbow on the table, and his smile was slightly crooked, as he looked at the waitress explaining that a fried banana was a banana in a pastry crust and then fried in oil. She seemed pretty annoyed by Sokka, but Zuko couldn't make out why.

He sat back down next to Katara, who gave him a questioning look.

"Took you long," she said.

"Ran into Aang," he replied.

Her eyebrows contorted. "Everything okay?" She looked a little worried, and although Zuko was sure Katara didn't think Aang would try to intimidate Zuko, she still seemed to be worried about his feelings.

Zuko smiled at her. "Yeah. He convinced me to accept his friendship."

Katara burst into a fit of giggled. "I guess he wouldn't let you say no?"

He leaned closer to her to talk more quietly. "He said I became your boyfriend, although we hated each other in high school, so he couldn't see why he and I couldn't become friends."

She smiled widely, giggling again. "This is Aang," she said and shrugged, then pushed her shoulder against his. "I told you he only wants to be a friend."

"Okay, okay, I got it," he whispered back, not really noticing how close they were. He had got used to being close to Katara over last week. Maybe he shouldn't have agreed to not-kiss-Katara, as this was clearly a perfect moment for it. To convince everyone that they were a couple. Not because he wanted to kiss her.

"Can I have it with a little bit of whipped cream?" Sokka asked the waitress, making a strange facial expression.

Katara groaned quietly. "Oh no. That's his flirt face."

Zuko cocked his head to the side, examining Sokka. He smirked, both eyebrows slightly lifted, looking at the waitress from under his lashes. It was quite similar to Jet's flirt face, actually.

"We don't have whipped cream, Sokka," the waitress said, almost tiredly.

"You know him?" Katara gasped.

The girl turned her look from Sokka to Katara, sighing. "Unfortunately."

"Aw, come on, Suki, you know you like me," Sokka said, grinning.

The girl, Suki, glared at Sokka, but the look definitely lacked real venom. "So, a fried banana with vanilla ice dream. Do you guys want anything for dessert?" Suki asked, now trying to ignore Sokka.

Toph blew her fringe away from her face, and turned around to stare out of the window. Katara raised her eyebrows at her behaviour, as she stared at her friend. Zuko turned to the waitress. "I'd take an espresso, thanks."

"You've got anything with chocolate?" Katara asked.

"Ice cream?"

"Okay, I'll take that. Thanks," Katara smiled at Suki. "And please excuse my idiot brother."

Sokka glared at Katara, as Suki chuckled. "It's alright. He's a harmless idiot." With one pat on Sokka's head, Suki turned around and walked back to the kitchen.

"Man, Katara, what was that?" Sokka whined.

"You being an idiot," she answered.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "I don't need interference from you. You probably just erased weeks of progress."

"Oh, is that the girl you've been stalking for weeks now?" Katara asked in an innocent tone.

Zuko's eyes widened. What? Sokka was a stalker?

Sokka rolled his eyes. "It's not stalking, Katara, and you know it. It's just difficult to coincidentally run into someone in a big city over and over." He shrugged.

"So you're not a stalker?" Zuko wanted to know for clarification.

Sokka shook his head. "Of course not. I just really messed up my first meeting with Suki, and I'm trying to make amends. She forgave me, but she has to see that I'm a good guy, and that she can like me. The oftener she sees me the more likeable I'll be to her." He said it as if it were obvious and completely normal logic.

Aang came back from the loo, still grinning at Zuko, who smiled slightly and again nodded a greeting. Aang's grin widened automatically. It was almost creepy.

Zuko pressed his lips together, almost slumping in the attempt at recoiling, as Toph got Aang's attention.

Zuko leaned closer to Katara again. "So, grinning wildly is normal behaviour from Aang?" he asked in a whisper.

She nodded. "Yes. Why?" she whispered back.

"It's creeping me out. Why is he so friendly?"

She suddenly squeezed his thigh. "Don't worry your head over it. That's just how he is. You could pour hot, boiling soup over his lap, and he'll probably apologise to you," she said.

Zuko sighed. "Your friends don't make much sense to me."

She stiffened.

He leaned closer. "But I think I still like them."

She turned her head to him, while he was still leaning very close, and smiled widely at him, as if he had gifted her the greatest thing on earth. Just then, did he realise that Katara had probably worried about this meeting just as much as he had. It was good Zuko and her friends seemed to get along. Even though they weren't really together, through putting an effort into meeting friends, it seemed very much like it, and then her friends could be convinced, too.

She then did something that took him completely by surprise, as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for being so patient. You don't have to, and I know they're a lot."

He smiled in return. "I live with Jet. I think I can handle seeing your friends once a month."

Katara chuckled. "True."

"Ey, Zuko!" Sokka called. "You remember our deal, right? Because this seemed a lot like having your face in my sister's, and I hope I don't have to talk about how hot Azula is."

Zuko grimaced.

"Your fried banana." It was put in front of Sokka with much more force than was necessary. Suki's lips were pursed, as she seemed even more annoyed with Sokka than before. She quickly put down Katara's ice cream and Zuko's espresso, before smiling at all of them, except for Sokka. "I hope you have a nice evening. Another waiter will bring your bill later, as I'm leaving now. Enjoy your dessert and please visit Oyaji's Noodles soon again." Her smile seemed very fake, as she said the last part through gritted teeth.

Sokka's eyes were wide, as he stared at his plate, when Suki left.

Aang looked from one to the other in a worried way. "Well, I guess this wasn't so bad."

"Oh, no, it was," Katara objected.

"Do you guys think she heard?" Sokka whispered.

"You saying another girl's name, and how hot she is in one sentence? Yep, I think she did," Zuko answered.

Sokka groaned loudly. "Oh no! I…" He quickly stood up. "I'll meet you guys later outside. I should fix this. Er, if anyone would eat my dessert, I would be very thankful. It shouldn't go to waste."

And off he was.

"Did he just…?" Katara started.

Toph's milky eyes were incredibly wide, and her expression somehow blank. "I think he did," she said slowly.

"What?" Zuko asked.

Aang raised his eyebrows. "He didn't just tell us to HAVE HIS FOOD, no, he also **CHOSE A GIRL OVER FOOD**!"

Katara looked in the direction where Suki had disappeared. "I guess that's my future sister-in-law then," she joked, and Aang laughed, while Zuko grinned.

Toph laughed the loudest laugh, even wiping tears of laughter from her face. "Wow, that was really good. Future sister-in-law! And this coming from you, Sugar Queen!"

Katara scowled at Toph. "Would you stop calling me that?" she growled.

Zuko downed his espresso, as he gently nudged Katara by her arm. "Maybe you should eat, before your ice cream melts." He wasn't very worried about Katara getting into one of those squabbles with Toph she had told him about, but he'd like to speed the rest if the evening up. He was getting incredibly tired, as this had been a long day.

Katara listened, but she kept glaring at Toph, before she took a spoon from her dessert.

Aang helped himself to Sokka's dessert, and offered Toph some of his banana, but Toph glared at Aang, before turning her nose on the dessert, and looking in another direction.

"Someone wanna bet if Sokka will have a chance with Suki?" Aang asked through a mouth of vanilla ice cream.

Katara grinned. "I think she'll slap him."

"I hope so," Toph grumbled, but then leaned back casually. "He did behave like an idiot after all, and that Suki girl sounded way too smart for him." She got her chair to balance on the hind legs, which reminded Zuko of the meals he had shared with her in the high school's cafeteria, before Katara had befriended Toph.

The waiter who brought their bill was a stammering young man, who flushed the whole time, and had trouble to get any words out. His name plate said his name was Awayatsu. He kept looking at Zuko, which was incredibly annoying. He probably recognised him from one of his father's public outings for his campaign.

Zuko tried to glare the guy into submission, but Katara ended his plan, as she kicked his shin under the table, making him look at her, and then she batted her eyelashes at him. "You told me you would pay, Sweetie," she said.

Of course. Yeah, he had said that.

In the end, he paid for both Katara and himself, and for Sokka, as he wasn't here anymore.

Aang and Toph paid for themselves, and then they got up to leave, unsurprisingly they didn't see Sokka standing in front of the restaurant.

"So, it was nice," Toph started. "And I know we all wanted to meet in my flat afterwards to continue this fun evening, but I have to ban you, as I'm totally beaten." With that she turned around and walked the few steps to the door of her building, as if she could see them. She didn't even say Bye or Good night.

"Is she okay?" Zuko asked, as soon as Toph was inside.

Katara nodded. "She'll be. Aang, do you know how to get home?"

He nodded. "I've got my bike with me. So, it was a short evening, but still nice, wasn't it?"

Zuko nodded reluctantly, while Katara smiled widely at the bald guy. "Yeah, it was."

They hugged to say good bye, and Aang and Zuko shook hands, before Aang left with a wave over his shoulder.

That left Katara and him.

He turned towards her, a question on his tongue that he didn't know how to and if he should ask. But then again, the question wasn't that strange. It was just about practising.

Katara sighed deeply. "Wow, this went really good, didn't it? They totally believed us," she said, grinning.

"Hey!" They suddenly heard a voice call. Sokka was jogging in their direction. "Could you maybe drive me home?" Sokka asked sheepishly, his hand rubbing his neck.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"I forgot my monthly ticket for the underground."

She groaned in annoyance, but then yanked one arm through Zuko's and looked up at him, questioningly.

Zuko nodded. "Sure." He cocked his head to the side to look better at Sokka. He seemed dishevelled. Not in an I-was-snogging-way, more in an I-was-knocked-over-way.

"Did you get in a fight?" he asked.

Sokka flushed immediately. "Er… No, I just… tripped. And then fell into… bushes. Yes, and that's why I didn't catch up with Suki."

Katara raised a sceptical eyebrow, but didn't say anything, as Zuko took a step towards Sokka, sniffing. "Did you fall into a dumpster?" He craned his neck and saw a banana skin sticking on Sokka's jeans.

"Nooo?" Sokka answered, consciously dusting himself off, and trying to get rid of all the rubbish.

Zuko leaned back, grimacing. "Sorry, but you're not getting into my car like this."

He felt a sudden pain in his ribs, coming from Katara's elbow. "What he wanted to say is, you can't get into his car without us cleaning you up and you bathing in your body spray. I take it you have it with you?"

Oh. Sokka was one of those guys.

"Pfft, of course I have it with me," he snorted and began rummaging in a large, green shoulder bag in traditional Eastern Province fashion.

Katara had said 'us', but there was no way Zuko would move around Sokka and pick up food leftovers from his jeans and jacket. She could do that alone. It was her brother.

Katara began picking things from all over Sokka, his hair, his jacket and jeans, while Sokka took a deep breath to hold it and began spraying the blue can all over him. Katara quickly backed away, coughing.

"Gods, were you trying to kill me?" she exclaimed, shoving against his back.

"I'll have you know that _The Mechanist_ is the latest fashion of fragrances," Sokka huffed.

Zuko grimaced. "Kind of smells like foul eggs. And candle wax."

Katara raised an eyebrow at Sokka and turned big, pleading eyes at Zuko. He was very inclined to not let Sokka get in his car, as he was reeking of this body spray now, which was not much better than dumpster. Anyway, Sokka would touch his car seats and he wouldn't like that.

He took a few steps to Katara, until he stood very close to her. "You're going to check later if he left any stain anywhere, and if he did, you can clean it." These were his conditions.

Katara caught him completely off guard, as she beamed widely and kissed his cheek, before turning to Sokka. "It's alright."

Sokka's grin seemed sheepish and relieved, while Zuko had trouble hiding his sour mood. Now, Sokka would be in his car, and he would have to drive him home, instead of getting the few minutes with Katara he had hoped for. Now everything would be way too late, and they wouldn't be able to talk about it.

After sliding onto his seat and fastening his seat belt, Zuko turned to Sokka and Katara, who seemed both a bit uncomfortable.

Sokka whistled. "It's like some high tech car from the future."

"I know, right?" Katara said in a breathless way, as if she had been dying to say that.

"What do you need all those buttons for?" Sokka asked, gesticulating at the air conditioner.

Zuko didn't want to touch Sokka's hand, so he used his elbow to slap the hand away. "Don't touch anything! It's precisely set how I like it, and it's the air conditioner." He didn't say 'you moron', but he really much thought it.

"Okay, fine," Sokka pouted, as Zuko started the engine with an exasperated sigh.

"It would be better if you drop off Sokka first. He lives closer to here," Katara said before giving him the part of town he had to drive to.

"Katara…", Zuko began after a few minutes of blessed silence and driving through the late evening traffic. "Are you free next Wednesday for lunch? My family would like to get to know you, as there's a gala at the weekend we're invited to, and they'd like you to come. But they'd like to meet you first."

He knew it wasn't ideal to tell her this with Sokka in the car, but he had to now, if there would be discussions ensuing, and since he was too exhausted to be able to handle this later.

"A gala?!" Katara shrieked, sounding panicked.

Oh no.

"Seriously?" Sokka snorted.

"Sokka, shut up," Katara snarled, then turned back towards Zuko. "Next week already? I won't have time to get a dress!"

"It's a week," Zuko deadpanned. Seven days. One-hundred-and-sixty-eight hours. How could this not be enough time to find one dress?

"B-but it's not just the dress, it's also about the shoes, the jewellery, the make-up, the hair…" Her voice mounted in pitch with each word she was saying.

"Dude, you can't just dump something like this on a girl one week before," said Sokka critically.

Zuko pressed his lips together in annoyance. Mai had never… But he stopped himself, before he could think the thought through.

"What kind of gala is this?" Katara asked nervously, fidgeting in her seat.

Quickly looking over his shoulder to see if the other street was empty, Zuko turned left on the small junction. "Er… I think something about orphans. Or ill puppies. Or orphaned, ill puppies? Look, it's one of the charity events my family has to go to every year, because my father donates millions of Yuans to that organisation."

Sokka gasped. "Seriously? Can you make him donate that to the Boomerang Squad?"

"What?"

Katara groaned. "Sokka! Shut up." She turned back to Zuko. "Fine. I'm free on Wednesday for lunch, and I'll accompany you to the gala thing. But only if you tell me the details before. Friday or Saturday?"

"Saturday," Zuko replied.

"Great!" Sokka exclaimed. "That means you can come to our parents' house on Friday. I'm sure they're dying to get to know your new boyfriend, Katara."

His eyes widening in slight horror, Zuko almost missed taking a turn, as his brain started panicking at the thought of meeting Katara's parents. He had thought he had more time! He didn't know enough about Katara yet to make it seem like they were actually a couple, and what if her parents noticed they weren't in love, or that Zuko didn't care that deeply for Katara?! They would expose him as a liar and bad actor and then Zuko would get worked up and probably do something that would insult every one of them, and then Katara wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, and then Ozai would…

Katara gulped. "Isn't Gran Gran about to arrive here next week?"

"Yep, she is," Sokka answered, and even Zuko could hear the evil grin in his voice.

"Seems like we'll have a busy week," Zuko rasped, his voice hoarse from panic.

A hand cautiously touched his shoulder, as not to startle him while driving. "It'll be okay, Zuko," Katara smiled. "We'll manage this."

She didn't say 'together', but her hand on his shoulder seemed to deliver this information.

Shortly, Zuko raised one hand from the steering wheel and squeezed hers. It did make him feel better.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!:)_

_So, what did you guys think of Suki here? I implied Sokka seeing her before in chapter five, but I don't know if anyone caught that. Anyway, the back story is that he talked to her once, got her to drink a coffee with him and behaved like a total idiot, assuming his job and muscles would impress Suki. She had told him what she thought of him and left. So then Sokka had first tried to tell himself she wasn't worth it, and he could find another girl, but he was already smitten with her, and so tried to apologise. He talked to some of her friends and found out where she worked. Since it's close to Toph's, it proved to be pretty convenient. Suki had almost softened up, but is still a little reluctant. And of course talking about how hot another girl is, didn't help Sokka. Suki is also in this AU a fighting pro, and when Sokka got too close to her, while trying to explain the Azula incident and annoying her even more, she lost it, made some quick, awesome fighting moves, and Sokka lay in the dumpster. _

_I know Suki actually accepted Sokka's apology quite soon in canon, but it's not like they had a huge fight before. And in here, it's not about fighting, just the general female role, so Sokka insulted way more than just girls's fighting skills. Plus, Suki can't find a way to ridicule Sokka and Sokka can't find a way to show humble respect to Suki in this more modern society. So that's why this process is taking more time in this AU. _

_Please let me know what you think! Reviews mean everything to me!:D_

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Of course she will. Azula is one of my absolute favourite characters to write. It's so much fun! I know, I had only appear her so far in chapter seven, and very shortly, but I'm also still thinking about how I will use her for this story. I don't know yet how she will interact with Katara, because I don't really want to have this cliché of the rich guy's sister who helps his poor girlfriend from a lower social class renewing her wardrobe so that she will be accepted in high society. And I still don't know with whom or if I will pair Azula up with anyone...  
_

_To _Lizzy786_: Here it is! I hope you enjoyed it!:)_

_To _Smckoy929_: Thanks so much. I know I don't have to, it's just that I know the feeling, too, as I am reading a lot of fanfictions, too. And sometimes I get really frustrated with the lack of updates from some authors... And I never wanted to be one of those authors.  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Aw, that's so sweet:D This totally made my day, the thought that someone out there thinks of themselves as a fangirl because of something I wrote! Well, okay, the characters aren't mine, but still, I was beside myself with joy! So thank you!:D  
_


	19. Chapter 18

_Hi everyone! The next chapter's here!_

_**Warning**: So, in the beginning of this chapter there will be a few thoughts about kissing and making out. It is from a rather adult point of view, although there are probably teengares out there thinking the same thing. I tried to explain and justify everything, and if you absolutely don't want to read any of this just skip to "So it's true then?". Also, drunken people will be mentioned, a not so nice word for breasts, and not so nice words for women in short clothing. This chapter is from Katara's POV, and I kind of imagine her looking down on things like that, that's why the language is a bit crude. _

_The main characters in this story are also all adult (albeit not always acting like it), from nineteen to twenty-three, and they don't think like thirteen year old girls. I'm trying not to directly address adult topics, but to imply them, but either way, in a few chapters, I'm probably going to ask something about the rating, as I don't know yet if I should keep this story child-friendly or more realistic. _

_Anyway, please enjoy the next chapter! _

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Katara had never before kissed a boy she hadn't at least fallen for. The total of all the boys she had ever kissed was three actually. There were Jet, Shoji from that one party when they had played truth or dare, and Aang. Since Katara had only kissed Shoji once and very shortly and without tongue she didn't really count it. It was not the same thing as kissing someone in a relationship.

But despite only having really kissed in a relationship, Katara knew that kissing someone one wasn't in a relationship with wasn't a bad thing to do, as long as both people weren't in relationships. It didn't only serve to communicate love, but also to satisfy a physical need. Kissing was fun, kissing was nice, it was enjoyable, and it was, of course, nicer when one could kiss someone one was in love with, but kissing itself was nice, too. Katara had never shied from kissing someone she didn't love, although the opportunity had only been there once, playing truth or dare.

And now, it had happened again, only that it was more than an innocent truth or dare. Kissing Zuko for pretending to be his girlfriend, or for learning how to play his girlfriend without having feelings for him was still different than just kissing someone to enjoy kissing. But lately, it had got more enjoyable.

Kissing Zuko had gone… a little out of hand sometimes. It was still mostly just kissing, but it wasn't slow and shy anymore. It wasn't exploring. It became passionate and wild.

It was hard to remain professional when one so wanted to kiss and be kissed. Kissing was nice, Katara knew that. And she knew just because she enjoyed kissing even though she wasn't in love with the person she kissed, didn't mean anything bad about her. The older women from her old village would probably object, but Katara was a more modern woman. She was a woman who allowed herself to enjoy herself. And she really, really much enjoyed herself with Zuko's lips on hers.

Last week, when she had touched him, while kissing, his hands had found their way to her hips, and it had only intrigued her even more. There had been no real snogging so far, but Katara was almost sure that Zuko wanted it just as much as she did. It was just… difficult. Complicated. They were kissing in order to learn how to behave as a couple with each other, but if the kissing alone already meant more, namely enjoyment, then how could snogging be justified?

Katara was fairly sure Zuko didn't want to have that talk, and that was why he was keeping back.

But sitting on his bed, kissing him, touching his chest and stomach… It made her feel a lot of things, and none of them were professional. In the beginning, she had analysed the way Zuko kissed so that she wouldn't really enjoy it with all her senses, but she'd figured that she as well might.

His hands were on her hips, but one was slowly, painfully slowly, creeping up her back to entangle itself in her hair. She gasped and bit him lightly in his lower lip, which caused him to pull her closer. Her stomach fluttering, Katara wondered if this would be the moment when he would let them do more, she was so desperate to see him without a shirt, and to touch his skin, and to feel his weight on top of hers. He angled his head to deepen the kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth, playing with hers, and she almost moaned, as she took a deep breath.

Some small, perverse part of her was actually happy that Zuko had asked her to be his fake girlfriend, because she got to kiss a handsome young man. She didn't know how long it would have taken for her to get a kiss from someone again, if she was just normally single.

Katara was a very physically affectionate person. She enjoyed cuddling and hugs, but she also liked the sensations a man could wake in her body. And being without that for long… Katara didn't really want to think about it.

She pressed herself subtly closer to Zuko's chest, pressing her breasts against him, as her hands wandered up to wave them through his hair. There was no gel in it, just soft, falling hair, completely at her disposal, and she could mess it around like she wanted to.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a shrill, female voice declared: "So it's true then!"

Katara quickly entangled herself from Zuko and skidded more than a metre away from him. She felt self-conscious for a moment, but at the same time she wondered what woman could just barge into Zuko's room with either Jet letting her through or having a key to the flat herself.

When Katara looked up, she had her answer.

Azula was standing in the door, hands on her hips, feet at shoulder-width. She wore wide, grey dress pants, which were tightened by a large, red belt around her waist and showed off her slim upper body, which was clad in a tight black blouse. Her hair was up in a fancy swirl. Katara didn't even know how to call that style, but she guessed there were a lot of hairpins and hairspray involved. Two strands of hair framed Azula's beautiful, heart-shaped face, which was clad in too much make-up. Katara still caught herself wondering what eyeshadow and lipstick Azula used. Honestly, it looked like straight from a make-up ad. The lipstick was matt and not the least bit smudgy.

"Azula!" Zuko called out, sounding shocked. "What are you doing here?!"

She rested her gaze on Zuko, narrowing her eyes at his tousled hair. "What I'm doing here? Oh, I don't know. Trying to keep my image as a good sister who met your girlfriend before the horrible family lunch, as I wasn't the first person to know about her?!"

Katara grimaced and flinched slightly. She understood Azula. How weird.

Zuko glanced at her, before turning back to his sister. "It… er…"

Oh gods, had he really not thought about what to say to his sister?

Zuko huffed. "It's not like you would welcome her with open arms. You can't blame me for not telling you!" he scoffed.

Azula's eyes narrowed, which actually looked very dangerous. "Who else am I to blame? Of course, I'm not happy you're with Miss Bossy, but I would have liked not having to find out through Father! Through Mother, okay, but definitely not through Father! This was embarrassing, Zuko. It is totally unacceptable!"

Zuko took a deep breath. "Okay, look. My last girlfriend was your best friend. You were mad at me for her breaking up with me for weeks! And you and Katara hated each other at school! So, I kind of put telling you off…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, okay?"

Azula regarded him, then her, and Katara didn't like that look one bit.

"Fine, I understand. I still don't understand why you're with her, though," she said, throwing a disgusted glance Katara's way. "She's so… common."

Katara's hands turned to fists as she glared daggers at Azula, ready to defend herself, although she didn't really know how to retort. Urgh, this felt like high school all over again!

"Why I'm with her is not your concern, Azula. It's my choice. And you wouldn't want to repeat such an insult!" Zuko snarled, albeit not very venomously. His anger seemed to boil under the surface.

Azula flashed a smiled at him. "Of course not, Zuzu," she drawled. "Let's see how she'll handle it all, shall we?" Smirking, her eyes went back to Katara, who hadn't stopped glaring at her.

This girl was the devil. Katara had always known, and she was sure that just because Zuko and the rest of his family were not bad, this wouldn't mean anything for Azula.

"Tamara or whatever your name was… If you want to stand next to Zuko, you might give denim and jersey a wild berth from now on. Just try not to look too common, as I wouldn't want you to insult the family image," she fluted.

Zuko jumped up from his bed, striding towards his sister. "That's enough! I won't have you insult her like that! Leave now!"

Katara swallowed and fought the urge to look down at herself, in blue denim and a white t-shirt. She wasn't even wearing a blouse. When Katara thought about it, she didn't think her style had much changed since her teenage years. She had found more things she liked, and she had become more confident, but seeing Azula business-like, but still on the ready for a picture of a paparazzo that might turn up in a newspaper in a few days shocked her a bit.

She realised that pictures of Zuko and her could turn up in newspapers, too. Gods, just what had she agreed to?

"It's all okay, Zuzu. That was just a bit small talk. Just think about Dad's campaign, okay?" She padded Zuko's cheek, as if he were the younger sibling, before she left.

Zuko slammed the door shut behind her and immediately went to Katara, sitting down next to her. "I'm so sorry about that. Azula can sometimes…"  
"… be a bitch? Don't worry, I already knew that. I was in the same year at Ba Sing Se's as her, you know," she said, trying to sound dryly, as to not let on her true feelings.

Zuko grimaced. "Still. She shouldn't have said things like that."

Katara gnawed on her lower lip, as she rubbed her hands over her thighs. "Yes, I know. But she's kind of right. I don't have the appropriate wardrobe to be the girlfriend of one of the most desirable bachelors of Elementia. Your father could become president. You're already part of high society."

He suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Well… I don't know a lot about fashion for women, but I know that my father would force me into dress pants, if I ever turned up in jeans somewhere."

Sniffing, Katara folded her arms. "This is stupid. But I guess I could get some nice things for the lunch, too." And not just for the gala.

"You haven't got your salary yet. I can give you part of it earlier if you need money for shopping," Zuko proposed, and something very uncomfortable settled in Katara's stomach. She felt close to sick, and the feeling felt a little like guilt. She only nodded.

"Alright." Licking her lips, she platted her hair before turning around to look at him. She let a smile dance on her lips, although it wasn't totally real. "Good, thanks. Any advice on the choice of clothes?"

He pressed his lips together, before he let himself fall back on his mattress. "Pooh, I don't know! Father didn't say anything to me about the way you were dressed when you met him. But I think it would be wise to dress more formally for this lunch. We're meeting at the Volcano Club, and a lot of Father's acquaintances and friends eat there very frequently, too. It would be important to Father to present a good and formal image. But he wants to highlight your origin, so maybe wear something blue?"

Katara bit down on her lip. "I have a nice, blue jeans dress. Maybe I could find something like this, only made from a different fabric. Can it be knee length?"

Zuko shrugged. "I guess."

She rolled her eyes at him, before lying down next to him and supporting herself on one elbow. "You don't really know anything about fashion, do you?"

He flashed a grin. "Not about female fashion. I know enough things for men."

What? That you had to dress as snobbily and poshly as possible? "You think so?" Katara asked with one raised eyebrow.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah? Or don't you think so?"

Suppressing a grin, she shrugged and extended one hand to ruffle through his hair. "For example your hair. It looks so much nicer when it's down. You kind of look like an Asian Malfoy when it's combed or slicked back."

"I look like who?"

She blinked at him, his eyes wide and forehead furrowed. He really didn't know who she was talking about.

"I give up," she announced dryly, before hoisting herself up and walking to his desk to grab her bag which was lying on his chair.

"No, wait, Katara!" he moaned, and she heard him getting up, as he quickly approached her.

She pretended to be busy with her bag, wanting to know what he would do, if she wouldn't turn around. For a while, he just seemed to stand there, before his hand grabbed her wrist.

"You can't just say you don't like my hair, compare it to someone else's, and then not wanting to tell me who you are talking about!" he complained in a stressed and slightly annoyed tone.

She glared at the desk. Why couldn't he sound more like a child when he complained like every normal guy did! But Kasaishi Zuko, of course, still kept the raspy tone! He didn't even sound whiny.

"It's not that I don't like your hair, I just didn't like your former hair style. And it's just from a book. Or a film, since I talked about your hair style," she murmured, before whirling around and glaring at Zuko, stabbing a finger into his chest. "And if you want this fake relationship to work, we have to put up a few more rules, mister!"

His eyes widened, as he looked at her, almost shocked, as his eyebrows wandered higher, behind his fringe.

"Tomorrow, we will watch a film, and you will be completely silent throughout it, is that clear?" she demanded, probing her finger into his chest.

Zuko snatched her finger away, holding her hand by her wrist down between their bodies. "What is this about?"

The fact that she even had to explain why she reacted like this! "This is about _Harry Potter_! Don't tell me you don't know that! It's an absolute must to attain basic social skills" She put on her best I'm-the-reasonable-one-here voice.

"Oh, er, no, I've heard of it," Zuko murmured, looking off to the side, slight pink colour rising in his cheeks.

She patted his chest with her other hand to get his attention back. "Okay, I've got to go now. It's late. But tomorrow, film!"

He raised an eyebrow. "But that means you have to watch some of my favourite films, too!"

Katara opened her mouth to tell him that _Harry Potter_ was not her favourite film, it was general knowledge, but that would be a lie. The films were some of her favourite ones.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Zuko asked, his voice suddenly a low murmur, and she realised that they were standing very close to each other, him still holding her wrist.

"Er… Probably nothing, really. I still have holidays, and tomorrow is Sunday. I would have gone to my parents for lunch, but Mum took an extra shift at the hospital, and Dad will probably only watch rugby." She rolled her eyes.

"Then stay."

"What?"

He looked up to stare at the wall over her shoulder. "Well… We could just make a marathon tomorrow this way. We could start at breakfast, and then… At the end of the day, I would already know more about Harry Potter than I would have if you would just come over in the evening."

Katara considered this.

Jet knew they weren't really together, so he wouldn't ask questions about why Zuko would sleep on the couch. She could sleep in his bed alone, just like he had told her in the beginning. She also didn't have anywhere to be. And she was kind of curious to use Zuko's shower. He had mentioned once that it had a rain function. Katara had never showered like that before.

And a _Harry Potter_ marathon? That sounded like a really cool thing, Katara had never done that before, and she also wouldn't have known with whom. Toph couldn't see, Sokka made stupid comments every time they watched a film, and Aang didn't like _Harry Potter_.

"Have you been to England before?" Katara quickly asked Zuko, sounding completely out of context.

"Yes…?"

"And did you have to attend a cooking course there, too?" She was practically vibrating with excitement.

Katara had always wanted to eat something English, the dishes in the Great Hall of Hogwarts had always looked so good. Especially those on Halloween with all the sweets.

"Yes… er, how about just some English breakfast and scones in the afternoon? I'm pretty sure we have everything I need here to make those," he trailed off, looking in the direction of his kitchen, his brows furrowed, as if he would mentally go through all the cupboards.

Katara beamed, as she noticed he had understood her trail of thoughts.

"This sounds fantastic! Alright, so, I sleep here, English breakfast tomorrow, Harry Potter films, and scones! Er, what are scones? And what exactly does an English breakfast contain?" Katara asked tentatively. "Please don't say there's papaya in it. I hate papaya."

Zuko blinked at her, looking surprised and as if she had said something incredibly stupid.

She mentally braced herself to defend her assumptions.

"Oh no, didn't you know the UK was famous for its papaya groves, as it is such a tropical country?" He smirked down at her, and Katara needed a moment to understand his sarcasm. Zuko was so rarely sarcastic, funny, or anyhow not serious that she always needed a moment to process it.

"They like tea, don't they? And that doesn't grow there, too!" Feeling like she won this, she quickly moved around him, walking towards the door, where she stopped to look at him. "I'm going to the bathroom. You can bring me a towel and a toothbrush. And I'd like to take a shower and would like to know what shower gel I can use. And I need a pyjama. As you're my boyfriend, I'm sure you won't mind sparing a t-shirt for me, right?" She smiled sweetly at him, waiting for his dumbfounded facial expression to disappear and making place for an amused one, as he walked to his wardrobe.

It took him a while to find a shirt, and then he grabbed a grey towel from the upper shelf. "For my lovely girlfriend." Whenever they said this to each other, they stressed it oddly so that it didn't sound serious which would sound weird.

Katara smiled brightly at him and took the t-shirt listing Zuko as member of the Volcano Kung Fu Club and the towel from him. "Why, thank you, handsome boyfriend. Would you lead the way?"

Katara had already been in the small bathroom of the apartment which was for guests, only with a toilet and a sink, but she hadn't been to the main bathroom yet. She wrinkled her nose, as a thought occurred to her. "Are you and Jet sharing a bathroom?"

"Yeah. There's just one."

The moment she opened the door, loud, deafening noises flooded her ears, coming from the living room. Laughter, music, scraps of conversations, and the clinking of glasses bombarded Katara's ears, and she cringed slightly.

"Oh," Zuko said. "I guess Jet's back from his gig. And he's got company." He sighed. "I'm praying every time he leaves to the sun god that he might come back alone so that the apartment stays quiet and peaceful, but he's like a magnet to floozies!"

Katara raised one eyebrow at him. Kind of sounded like someone was jealous he wasn't a magnet…

Zuko noticed her expression and promptly flushed bright red. "Oh no! I didn't mean… Er, no offense. He didn't attract floozies in high school, that's just a recent development..."

Understanding what he meant, Katara blinked, feeling surprised. She hadn't even thought about how this could have been interpreted as a stab to her side.

"O no, it's okay. None taken. I just hope no one's occupying the bathroom," she mumbled.

"I can't promise anything. Those things get out of hand."

"If you're so annoyed by it, why don't you stop it? It's your flat!" Katara sniffed.

Sighing, Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose before guiding Katara to the bathroom. "I sometimes do, but I try to be more patient. In general. And coping with Jet's parties is a very successful treatment."

Katara snorted. "Sounds more like torture to me."

He grinned at her, as he led her down the hallway.

The walls were left white, and there was absolutely no furniture standing in the hallway, not even a mirror hanging on a wall, or a painting. It was just black tiles and white walls.

The bathroom was mostly the same, the only colour drops coming from the products the boys used for hygiene, or the three pot plants standing around the bathtub. The window's glass was blurred so that no one could make out anything else but light and darkness through it, and the towels hanging on the heater were grey, too.

From seeing Zuko's childhood home, she had somehow thought his apartment would hold more red and gold accents. But maybe Zuko didn't feel the need to show any loyalty to an old royal line, which had killed and betrayed its own people.

The bathroom itself was nothing if not luxurious. There were several shiners embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the whole room, and the shower's glass door was so clean it almost looked like a mirror. The black tiles weren't smooth under her feet and felt more like natural rock, also building the walls around the shower, separating this part of the room from the toilet.

And the bathtub and the shower were huge! The shower was as big as Katara's whole bathroom! Okay, no, scratch that, it was actually bigger! And the bathtub looked like a small pool, there were steps to take up to the edge and jets all around its walls.

Katara blinked, taking all in, and focusing on the bathtub. "Can you turn this into a Jacuzzi?"

"Yeah." Zuko strode towards the shower, entering it and holding up a bottle of shower gel. "You can use this one. It doesn't smell of flowers or fruits, but you'll be clean."

Crossing her arms, Katara frowned at his assumption she was only using flower or fruits shower gel, because she was a girl. Well, she only used these shower gels, but Zuko had never been to her bathroom before, so he couldn't really know.

"Thanks."

He nodded, before putting the shower gel back and then walking towards the door. "Call if you need anything."

When he was gone, Katara quickly locked the door, took all her clothes off, twisted her hair into a high bun so that it wouldn't get too wet, and practically dived into the shower. It really felt a little like standing in the rain, only that the rain was warm. The whole room was soon filled with steam, so she quickly applied the shower gel, washed it away, and turned the shower off.

It was with a very mournful and longing expression that she stared at the shower, as she left the room, having dried and changed.

Zuko's t-shirt was long enough for no one to see her panties, but she still didn't feel very comfortable, and held her clothes in front of her. The party still seemed to go on in the living room, but she thought she could hear Zuko snarling from in there, too.

Sighing, she brought her things into his room, before investigating what was going on in the living room.

"I don't get why you can't sleep in one bed with her! It's not like you two are in any real relationships!" she heard Jet complain.

"But it's inappropriate, and I promised her not to! I told her I would sleep on the couch!" That was Zuko. He didn't even sound angry, just frustrated.

"Well, then tell her the couch is occupied. Your bed is large enough for you two to sleep in without touching, if that's what you're so afraid of!"

Katara peeked around the corner, seeing them both standing in the kitchen. Zuko was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, and his face twisted in a mix of angry and pouty, while Jet was looking through the fridge.

On the left hand side of the room, was the living room with its grey walls and one red brick wall (which looked pretty cool, but had certainly been built into the already finished apartment as a style accent). The centre of the room was the dark brown leather couch with a wooden couch table standing on a white fluffy carpet, surrounded by two black leather armchairs, a TV surrounded by shelves filled with DVDs, and a dinner table towards the window, on which a group of young people in different states of drunkenness were having fun playing beer pong. A few others used the couch and armchairs as stage, as they played some karaoke game on the TV, and smaller groups were scattered all around the living room towards the kitchen, some sitting on the floor, others leaning against the wall, one couple even lying on the carpet, making out.

Katara wiggled her nose, slightly in disgust, but she was also reluctantly fascinated by these people who could just lose themselves without constantly worrying about any responsibilities.

Two girls were leaning on the kitchen island towards Zuko and Jet, their elbows put on the black stone slab, their tits almost falling out of their shirts. They were giggling with each other, but also looked very often and very pointedly towards the two boys arguing.

"I'm not afraid of touching her!" Zuko spat.

"Really? Cause it sounds like that to me," Jet murmured, grabbing a plate with a half-eaten burger on it. He bit into the bun without even heating it. Katara grimaced. Ew.

"You know it tastes better when you heat it, Jet?" Zuko asked, one eyebrow raised. "We have a microwave."

Jet shrugged. "Too hungry. And I'm not tasting anything anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Honestly, though, Jet. It's late, and Katara and I would like to go to bed, so get these people out of here!"

"But I promised Kovaria, Mori, Akio, Taku, and Yuna that they can sleep here!" Jet objected.

Zuko's hands were forming to fists, as he took two deep breaths. Katara bit her lower lip. It looked like he would explode any minute now.

"Then get them to sleep in your room," he said in a low voice. It almost sounded calm, but Katara wondered when this bubbling anger in him would erupt.

She would be angry, too. It was Zuko's flat, after all. Fine, Jet paid rent, but she was pretty sure he didn't pay enough. Besides, that made Zuko the landlord, so he should be the one in charge. But Jet seemed to like to provoke people in charge. So this hadn't changed since high school so far.

"Kovaria and Yuna will have space, but Mori, Akio, and Taku will have to sleep in the living room. There is an extendible couch with enough space for them, and there is a very large double bed in your room, in which you can perfectly fit in with Katara!"

Leaning back into the hallway, Katara wondered if she should just walk to them and tell them she was fine with sleeping in Zuko's bed with him. It was a large bed, after all. And even if not, it was just sleeping. Katara didn't mind sharing space with friends, but she still couldn't stand Jet's insolence at just deciding everyone's sleeping places, when it was Zuko's apartment.

Besides, she was curious at finding out how long Zuko would try to argue. She wondered if he just really didn't want to sleep in one bed with her, or if he just assumed she didn't want to, and was therefore so stubborn in giving in. He had told her he wouldn't make this fake relationship thing uncomfortable, if he could help it.

"You know what? Let's just ask Katara!" Zuko snarled. "I'm sure she would want to sleep alone and in peace!"

"She's not that prude, you idiot!" Jet shouted, and then suddenly they were both standing in the hallway, marching towards Zuko's room, but stopping short at seeing her leaning against the wall next to the door.

Her eyes went wide. "Hi. Are you okay? I heard you raise your voices."

Zuko blushed a little and began scratching his head, when Jet pushed his way to the foreground. "Well, Katara, as you can hear, I'm having a little party here, and some of my guests live in very dangerous parts of the city, where you wouldn't want to go in a party outfit, so I offered them to sleep here. Two can sleep in my room, but the other three would need the living room, which means that Zuko cannot be totally prude and traditional, and he'll have to sleep in his bed, after all. But you don't mind, do you?

"Er…" She wracked her brain for something to say which would lead Zuko to win their argument, but Jet had asked if she would mind. And well, she didn't… "No, it's okay. I understand."

Zuko's eyebrows rose up under his fringe. "Are you sure? I can also…"

"No, it's okay, really," she interrupted him, holding the hem of his t-shirt to make sure she was dressed modestly enough.

"Hey, Jet! You still haven't introduced us to your sexy roommate!" a shrill voice from behind the two young men fluted.

Katara leaned to the side to look past them and saw the two thin floozies from the kitchen island, clad in way too little fabric, their faces covered in way too much make-up. They stood closely together, their cheeks almost touching, as they looked at Zuko. One of them was playing with her hair, the other one blinked a lot.

Zuko turned around to glare at Jet who quickly lifted his palms. "I told them not to leave the living room or kitchen!"

"We just couldn't find you anymore," the girl on the left said.

"Then I guess you're Zuko, right?" the other one asked, taking a step towards him, extending her hand. "I'm Yashiru. This is Tuni. Pleased to meet you."

From Katara's point of view, she couldn't see Zuko's face, as he had turned away from her to look at the girls who had entered his hallway without permission. She was still standing against the wall, Zuko and Jet in front of her, and she could only see the girls between their bodies.

"Yes, I'm Zuko," he said, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, too." Unceremoniously, he turned towards Jet again, almost baring his teeth, as his face contorted in anger again. "You have fifteen minutes to end this party, or I'll throw everyone out myself."

Jet scowled like a pouting child and stomped towards the living room.

Yashiru seemed to want to say something else, as Zuko turned towards Katara, grabbing her hand. "Come on," he said, almost in an annoyed manner. Dragging her to his room, she saw him nodding curtly at the two flustered girls, who blinked in a surprised manner, before scowling at Katara.

She grinned and waved them goodbye.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!:D_

_Please review!:D It means the world to me.:) _

_**Reminder**: Zuko's relationship to Team Avatar is currently kind of at the stage of The Crossroads of Destiny in this fic, only, of course, more developed and more trusting. The thing is, this is where Katara first thinks that Zuko isn't so bad, and trusts him. But with Iroh, Zuko is more in a beginning of book three stage, as he already "betrayed" his Uncle by following Azula's and his father's will. It will all make more sense later. _

_So, I don't really think I need to explain anything here, but if you still have questions about why a character does something or behaves in that way in this chapter, you can just leave a review. _

_I discovered Harry Potter fanfiction a few weeks ago, and I lately watched the films again, so it's kind of constantly on my mind, just like Avatar, so it even made its way in here! The thought that Zuko's hair style in this fic was similar to Draco Malfoy's in the first two films, only occurred to me writing this chapter! I actually made Zuko have this hair style, because it looks posh and idiotic. Kind of like Mako in book four of LoK. Zuko always changes with his hair, and I wanted to show this process in this fic, too, but having a half shaped head with a ponytail looks more like a biker in our time, in my opinion. And I needed something that shows wealth, arrogance, and superiority. That's why his hair was combed back, held with hairspray of course. Or slicked back, since that looks even worse. But that's all just my opinion._

_Okay, so I obviously had to say something. I just wanted to explain why I mentioned Harry Potter. And I'm sorry if it annoys people who are annoyed by Harry Potter and its fans. I was one of you once. But everything changed, when the Harry Potter books attacked. _

_Shoji is actually not an OC, he is from the episode The Headband, and I think he's the boy who's so baffled by Aang being nice to the bully Hide in that Fire Nation school, but I'm not sure, if that was him. I just didn't want Katara to only have kissed Jet and Aang, and I wondered which other boy could she have met at a party? As I have written in the prologue that Haru had a girlfriend right before Katara and Jet got together, I couldn't pick him. _

_The people Jet wanted to sleep over are all OCs, and some names are made up. _

**_Answer to reviews: _**

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Well, Zuko suddenly became funny when he joined Team Avatar, so I thought I could try it, too. Yeah, this was this fic's version of their talk in the woods, when Toph left Team Avatar in The Chase. Of course, Toph knows who Iroh is, since she, too, used to hang at The Jasmine Dragon, but she knows Zuko isn't ready yet to hear anything new about Iroh. Iroh, of course, told her about how lost and conflicted Zuko is. But Toph doesn't know everything, only that Zuko has conflicted feelings about his father, is angry at Iroh, is not on the right way, and made Iroh very sad. Oh, Gran Gran will definitely be a problem...:D Thanks for reviewing!_

_To _Smckoy929_: Thanks for your review!:) And thanks! Yeah, I mean how can you not love the gaang?:D It even warms Zuko's heart, although he already is very soft, just stubborn. _

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Thanks! Yeah, I suddenly remembered that I totally forgot her for over ten chapters, I think... I once implied her to be somewhere, and Sokka wanted to impress her, but then I somehow forgot about that incident, so I thought it was high time to make Suki appear again. That chapter was so fun to write. I love writing the gaang! And Azula:) Thanks for leaving a review!:D _


	20. Chapter 19

_Hi everyone! _

_A few **warnings** to this chapter: There will be allusions to sexual topics in this chapter, as well as many swear words, since we're going to deal with a stressed and upset Zuko. There will also be not so nice words used to describe a certain type of woman, since in my opinion, Zuko just calls things what they are without any embellishment, and he will still be pissed, so, yeah... _

_This starts during the night, when Katara and Zuko are sharing his bed. _

_I hope you'll still like the next chapter, and please review!:D_

_I do not own Avatar The last Airbender._

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

It was difficult to fall asleep for Zuko.

Although he was very tired, he couldn't forget that there was a beautiful girl only clad in panties and one of his t-shirts lying in his bed. A girl he had kissed earlier that evening. A girl he had very much wanted to do more with than kissing.

Trying not to move around too much, so as not to wake her up or accidentally touch her, he couldn't fight certain images and fantasies running through his head. He almost groaned in annoyance, as he pressed his hands to his eyes.

Maybe his last sex was too long ago.

There was no other realistic reason to explain why having Katara in his bed turned him on so much.

Right now, he hated Jet. He hated him with every fibre of his being. Him, and his stupid parties, and gigs, and floozies he brought home. He couldn't let them walk home in their outfits, as horrible things could happen to them? Well, then maybe they shouldn't dress in these outfits in the first place!

Then, at least, he didn't have to sleep in one bed with Katara, and could actually get some sleep on the damn couch!

The worst thing of all was the guilt. He felt so guilty for wanting her now. For wanting her ever since they first practised kissing. Their whole arrangement was weird and twisted, but his body's feelings only made everything worse!

After what felt like hours, and Katara breathing evenly for a while now, Zuko slightly opened his mouth, staring up at the ceiling. "Katara?" he whispered. "Are you still awake?"

There was no answer, and he sighed in relief. There was a brief moment, when he honestly considered staying in bed for this, just because it would be a little more thrilling, but he blushed, called himself a perverse idiot in his head, and got up to go to the bathroom. If Katara would wake up in the middle of the night, she would probably only think he left to pee.

The next day was a Sunday, but Zuko still awoke early, as it had become habit.

He watched the darker skinned girl in his bed for a while, observing her facial lines, until he thought he could draw her from memory. She really was pretty. Even though there was saliva clinging to her lips, and the weird, dried, white stuff around her eyes, her hair curled wildly around her head, as she breathed with her mouth a little opened.

Although Zuko still thought she looked beautiful in this state, he was very grateful not to have woken up with a certain morning predicament.

When time neared half past six, he got up to dress in his sports gear and left the apartment for the fitness room on the fifteenth floor. This had been one of the reasons why his father had bought him an apartment in this building.

After doing his usual muscle and stretching training for one hour, he quickly left again, panting and craving some water. He couldn't wait to shower and make some breakfast. His stomach began to growl at the thought of English breakfast.

Since he smelled of sweat, he didn't enter his room before the shower, but later noticed this hadn't been too ideal, as he had to walk with a towel around his hips to his room now. Checking that Katara was still sleeping, he dressed turned towards her. If she would open her eyes in the next few seconds, it was better her seeing his manhood than seeing his back. He was dressed in comfortable, casual Sunday clothes and grabbed a book to wait for Katara to wake up. He would give her half an hour, then it would be past eight o'clock, and he didn't care how Jet's party guests would feel, he would start cooking at eight, and using the coffee machine, and this would mean noise, so hopefully this would drive everyone out of here.

oOo

"Mu-um!" Katara cried out in annoyance. "You're not taking this seriously!"

Kya frowned, as she looked at her daughter, and then back to the dress she was proposing her. "Why would you say that?"

Katara raised her eyebrows. "The dress has stripes! It looks like some marine uniform for a girls squad!" After spending one hour at the mall with her mum, looking for suitable clothes for the lunch with Zuko's family on Wednesday, and not finding anything, she was positive her curse had returned. She was cursed not to find a good job and cursed not to find good clothes. It was seriously too bad that her best female friend was blind. But even if not, Katara doubted Toph could ever be interested in things like that.

Her mother scoffed and hung the dress back on the rail.

This was the first more expensive shop they had dared to enter. The places where Katara normally shopped hadn't felt elegant enough, and she was sure Azula would take one look, recognise some cheap fashion chain and sneer at her outfit. And that was nothing Katara wanted to deal with. But on the other hand she didn't want to pay so much money for an outfit, so it had taken quite some time for her to be sure to try out the more expensive shops.

"It's so nice of your boyfriend to offer to pay for this! It's quite the gesture, if you ask me! Gifting you clothes so early in the relationship…, He definitely wants you for something very serious!" her mother had gushed.

Maybe it would have been a better idea to ask Sokka to come along, but he was currently at work and was still moaning about how much he needed to show Suki that he was a good guy. Besides, Katara liked to think that Sokka's enthusiasm for shopping came from their mother, and maybe that was right, but Sokka's good taste probably didn't come from Kya.

"May I be of assistance to you, Miss?" a petite, curvy woman with a tight white dress and a dark blue work blazer asked her, suddenly popping up at the side of Katara's field of sight.

"Oh, er… Thank you, but I think I'm just looking around…"

Kya shoved herself next to Katara, pushing her a bit out of the way. "My daughter is in urgent need of fine clothing. She is to meet her boyfriend's family in a very exclusive arrondissement for lunch, and she would like to wear something blue."

Katara's first instinct was to glare at her mother, but she knew she had only meant well, and maybe the lady in the blazer could really help her.

She smiled a tight smile at the darker skinned women. "An exclusive arrondissement?" she asked with a tight, high pitched voice and a smile that seemed as if she considered the women in front of her not worthy of her time.

Katara took a deep breath through her nose. She knew why she didn't like the posh and fancy shops. The workers in there always asked Katara what she wanted, then made it seem like she couldn't possibly want something from their shop and sent her to a far cheaper one. They took one look at her appearance and already thought she could never belong there.

Not like she wanted to, but she deserved to be treated with respect. Her mother deserved to be treated with respect.

"The Volcano Club, actually," Katara sneered, one side of her lip pulled up, as her eyes narrowed on the small woman. She couldn't stand people like these. "I don't know if you've heard of it," she continued, knowing very well the woman must know the Volcano Club, as probably all her best customers were members of that club. "But my boyfriend's family has been members for decades, and I would like to wear something appropriate, so as not to stain their reputation and image," she said forcefully, her hands balled to fists.

Kya laid one hand on her arm.

The saleswoman smile became even tighter, and Katara could clearly see how displeased she was at hearing that someone like Katara had a boyfriend with his family being members of the Volcano Club. The saleswoman herself had probably wanted this to happen to her for some time now.

"Of course," she said, nodding. "Lunch at the Volcano Club, hm? Well, let's see…" She started walking off to the other side of the shop, Katara and Kya following her.

Kya managed to get Katara's attention and rolled her eyes at the saleswoman, making one small gagging motion.

Katara giggled.

To her surprise, though, the saleswoman remained completely friendly and professional, her tight and fake smile vanishing as she concentrated on simply selling the best outfit she could find for Katara and probably not making Katara tell her boyfriend's family what a racist shop this was.

It turned out to become less racist with every outfit Katara left the changing booth with.

There was nothing else going on in the shops, being Monday afternoon and a poorer part of town so that all the other saleswomen streamed out and focused on Katara, joining the mission. Everyone started to gush over her dark legs and arms, telling her how lucky she was since she could basically wear every colour this way.

The dresses, pants, skirts, and blouses were all beautiful and out of such fine material. One saleswoman had insisted Katara wear heels to be able to better judge the outfit, and when Katara emerged in a dark blue dress with little light blue flowers on it, the top clinging to her body with a heart shaped décolleté, and short, tight sleeves, and a skirt that billowed around her legs, with the white sandal heels stretching her body, it definitely had a wow effect on her.

Not even in her dress for graduation had she felt so beautiful. She felt like a model, and having every one of the people in the shop gushing over how beautiful she looked, not only added to that feeling, but also lifted her mood a little.

Cocking her head to the side, she thought that she really had long legs in these shoes. The only problem was that she couldn't walk in them. They looked gorgeous and were definitely in her budget. Zuko had given her six thousand Yuans for shopping for the gala and the lunch, and although the sum had abhorred Katara at first, she soon realised that perhaps, this was necessary. She didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb, and have people sneer at her too cheap outfits.

Her job was to play Zuko's girlfriend and therefore make Ozai get more supporters in his campaign. Her job was not to piss the rich people off.

"Do you maybe have a jacket here which would go with the dress?" Katara asked the small saleswoman next to her, who was actually grinning wildly at Katara in the dress. "I don't want to wear my jeans jacket with it, if I can help it."

"Why not?" Kya asked, taking two steps towards Katara and began tugging at Katara's hair and the dress, as if something was out of place. "A jeans jacket would look very cute with the dress."

The saleswoman blinked very slowly at Kya, before shaking her head. "Yes, it might. But you can't wear that to the volcano club."

Promptly, another saleswoman appeared on Katara's other side. "What about this one?" She held up a white blazer with light blue feeding making the collar and the trim on the sleeves light blue, too.

Katara grimaced. "Too formal. No blazer, if that's okay."

The tiny saleswoman brought an elegant, white, short cardigan with silver embroidery and tiny silver buttons. It was straight-cut, but also slightly tapered.

Katara put it on and decided that it was the best jacket she would find. Finding a dress apparently hadn't been so difficult, but now she realised that a dress wasn't the end of it all. She had noticed she needed a new jacket with the dress, and now she noticed she hadn't any shoes or handbag that would go with it, either. She couldn't possibly wear any of her handbags to that outfit.

"Katara, this all looks lovely, but you're going to need a handbag with the outfit," her mother pointed out, as if she had read her thoughts.

"Er…"

"A handbag!" the short saleswoman called out. "No problem. The handbags for the summer collection just arrived, but we also have some colour fitting ones from the spring collection. Are you more the tiny sling bag type, or do you want to have a bigger bag, one you could wear on your lower arm?"

Katara blinked. Normally, she had big sling bags. They were comfortable, and everything she needed went in there. She had four of those bags, and she had never needed any other one, since they all went greatly with her clothes.

She turned around to look at the bags set on shelves, to where Kya was already heading. The bags looked all so elegant and expensive, most of them looked like there were made of colourful leather, there were round ones, half-moon shaped ones, or angular ones, some small or big, with long or short belts and handles.

"OH! Katara, look! This one has a leather flower sewn in! And there are flowers on the dress! I think it's perfect!" Kya happily exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Katara frowned, studying the tiny, white, leather bag.

"It might be not a good idea to wear a white bag over a white cardigan. I would rather go with a colour from the dress. Preferably light blue, as the background colour is so dark. With white shoes, you'll have a match to the cardigan, but with a light blue bag, you'll have a match to the dress, too," the saleswoman told her, showing her what she meant, as she held a light blue bag to herself. Her dark blue heals matched her blazer, but since the dress was white, the lighter blue of the bag didn't look as good as a white bag on her.

"It's just the other way around with your outfit," she said with slightly raised eyebrows. "Try them."

Kya shot a glare towards the saleswoman, and although Katara loved her mother very much, she was not the first person Katara went to when she had a fashion question.

As Katara tried the different bags, she asked one of the saleswomen if they also had white ballerina shoes, as she wasn't comfortable walking in high heels. The woman almost looked like she wanted to laugh, then complained that the high heels made Katara's legs so much longer, and flats would ruin the outfit.

Katara took a deep breath. "Please, I'm just not comfortable with heels."

The look on the saleswoman's face changed almost to pity, as she nodded and said: "I'll look for it and be right back."

Smiling, Katara nodded.

"So, which bag do you prefer?" Kya wanted to know, smiling expectantly.

Katara grimaced. "The light blue one, actually. Sorry, Mum."

Kya huffed, grabbed the white one out of Katara's grasp and looked for the price tag. "Hm." She twisted her mouth. "Maybe… I haven't bought anything yet this year… Can't you make your boyfriend buy me something, too?" Kya joked/whined.

Katara didn't know if she should laugh or glare at her mother, but settled for chuckling. "Well, if you invite him to your birthday, I could drop a hint as to what you would like."

Kya's answering grin was nothing if not mischievous. "You're a great daughter, you know that?"

Katara giggled, feeling reminded of those times when she was younger, whenever Kya had allowed her something or bought her something she wanted, Katara had said "I love you!", and Kya had answered in a resigned voice "Yeah, yeah. Now I'm the best mother on Earth." Katara had giggled then, hugged her and said she always was that.

During Katara's teenager years they had had quite a lot of arguments, often screaming at each other, and then not talking to each other for a few days. It had sometimes really been bad, and Katara had felt completely lost and alone, but that was puberty.

So sometimes, having Kya buying her something and Katara saying "I love you!" and hugging her had been the only times they had really been friendly to each other during Katara's teenager years.

Now, as an adult woman who had her own apartment, she barely argued with Kya. When Katara had first moved in with Aang, Kya had been incredibly easy to explode on Katara for a while, and Hakoda had said she only did that, because she missed Katara. But that had settled after a few months, too. They simply didn't see each other often enough anymore to argue, and they didn't live in the same household anymore, which helped, too. Katara knew her mother loved her, and she also loved her mother, but all this arguing for no reasons, mostly because Katara had been incessantly cheeky and riling her mother up on purpose, had still an effect on Katara sometimes. She was simply glad they didn't do it anymore and remained friendly and loving to each other. Which didn't mean they wouldn't sometimes provoke the other one a little bit just for fun. With banal topics, that was okay, as long as it wasn't about something serious.

Katara and Kya left the shop with one dress, a cardigan, a tiny sling bag, and white ballerina flats, the staff waving at them and wishing them all the best and good luck for the meeting with Katara's boyfriend's parents.

oOo

Zuko was late. He hated being late, and normally he was never late, so of course it wasn't his fault that he was. One of his fellow students, whom he sometimes talked to about the lectures, and whom he sometimes sat next to, didn't leave him alone after his last tutorial for the day. Wednesday was Zuko's shortest day, and he only had classes until a quarter to twelve.

Then, he had to find out that there had been an accident downtown, which prevented him from taking the normal route to where he would pick up Katara. The only problem was that the detour was fully packed with cars whose drivers had apparently thought around similar lines as he had. Standing for ten minutes in the traffic-jam, Zuko had enough, took a turn to find a parking place to be able to take the underground. He had not found a parking place for twenty minutes, driving in circles around the blocks surrounding the underground station.

When he finally jogged down the steps, a large crowd of people was moving in front of him, and it became hard to move further forward. There was an old lady standing in front of him, walking very slowly, and Zuko had to suppress an annoyed growl.

On the platform, there were equally many people, and it became hard for Zuko to push through, until he stood closer to the tracks. Almost all these people shoved into the train with him as soon as it had arrived, and Zuko stood in the middle of way too many people, all pressing, pushing, holding onto something, too many of them looking at their mobile phones, and some staring too openly at a group of European tourists.

The group of people with natural blond, red, and light brown hair attracted stares, and a few giggling, young women tried to film them with their phones.

Zuko hated the underground.

Nevertheless, he couldn't afford to be late. He didn't want to be late, but he still had to do something, so he pulled his mobile out and called Jet.

"Come on, answer," he murmured in a stressed way, when suddenly the line clicked, and he bellowed into the speaker, before Jet could even say something. "I need you to get downtown to the district, where all the streets are named after philosophers. My car is in Confucius Street. Drive it to the Volcano Club before three o'clock, and then leave it there." Jet had the spare key to his car, so it shouldn't be a problem for Jet.

"Zuko, bud, I'm at work. I can't just…"

"You'll have a lunch break later, won't you?" snarled Zuko, his hands already forming fists. _Okay, now don't explode, Zuko. You're in public. Not everyone has to know about your problems._

"Yes, but there's this new woman at the office. She's blond and French, and I think…"

That was it. Whenever Jet brought up a woman in their arguments, or when Zuko needed him very much to do something else, it was the final straw. "I don't f***ing care, you jerk! She'll still be there tomorrow!"

For a moment it was silent at Jet's end. "Okay, bro, listen. I get you're probably stressed, but…"

"Stressed?! I'm losing my f***ing mind right now! I have to drive in a train! In a shit underground train! I can't be late, under no circumstances," he muttered on, his chest heaving, while he was glaring at the opposite door, over the heads of all the people inside. He couldn't even make the tiniest of mistakes, when it came to his father. For almost a year, he had managed to present a perfect son. Loyal, obedient, and submissive. He knew Ozai hated it when guests were late. To Ozai being late was refusing respect. Letting him wait showed him he wasn't respected. Zuko couldn't let his father think he didn't respect him. Not ever again.

Jet cackled. He f***ing cackled!

Zuko growled for real now.

"Okay, bro, just relax for a while and listen to me, okay? I know you're a hygiene freak, and you hate small, cramped, public places, and people in general, but you can get through that. Nothing bad will happen if you're late…"

Zuko tensed. Well, Jet didn't know. He only knew so much, and it definitely wasn't enough. Jet knew of Zuko's scars, but he didn't know exactly where they came from or why it happened. It had been an accident for Jet to actually see them, and Zuko had been very careful later not to let that happen again, or to get drunk enough to tell him everything about it.

"I can drive your car there, if you allow me to take Margaux with me, and we can get lunch at the Volcano Club on your account. Gotta impress her a little."

Zuko's nostrils flared. "Fine, but take a private room, I don't want to see you and your conquest anywhere near us during lunch. In fact, I don't want to see you there at all! If you can manage to pull that off, then please, order anything you want."

"Fine," Jet's voice had a strange clipping tone to it that Zuko was not used to. "But try to rein in your inner arsehole in front of Katara later. She doesn't deserve that, you shit dick!"

Zuko's eyes widened in rage. Of course he wouldn't talk like that to Katara, he was no idiot, and certainly didn't hold a death wish. And how dare Jet even say something like that, when his incessant flirting with some stupid bimbos constantly managed to get in the way of Zuko's plans!

Jet called Zuko a jerk or an idiot almost every day. He only used more vulgar words describing male or general human anatomy, when he was really pissed.

"Fuck off, and just do what I told you to!" Zuko snarled, his other hand raising and making an angry cutting motion through the air.

His hand landed accidentally on the shopping bags of an old lady, who was holding them tightly to her chest, his hands slicing through the thin, cheap brown paper and making several items fall to the floor.

She gasped in shock, as her eggs all cracked on the floor. Why didn't she have an egg box? Why carry single eggs in a paper bag?

Zuko's eyes widened and he grimaced, his anger already completely forgotten. Quickly, he ended his phone call, put his phone back and tried to save the rest from falling out of the woman's bag. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" Holding the bag closed with one hand, he bent down to at least pick up a few of the vegetables, before people were stepping on them. Just then, someone stepped on his hand. In a high heeled shoe.

"Ouch! F*ck!" He rose to his feet, glaring at the woman with the heels and dark red dyed hair. "Can't you watch where you're going?!" He held his bruised hand with his other one.

The woman's eyes widened in shock, and she started to stutter an apology. Zuko took a deep breath, then turned around to the old lady, determined on helping her again, when he suddenly realised he had to get down the train at the station it was just driving into.

"Oh, shit. I've got to get off the train now," he told the old lady, who just gazed at him with a judging, unimpressed face. "I'm really sorry about your groceries." He bowed shortly, before pushing his way to the doors, not above using his elbows to get there.

When he was practically running out of the station, he again pulled his phone out of his pocket, calling Katara.

"Hi, Zuko!" She sounded cheerful, and something in him felt guilty for probably ruining her good mood.

"Can you come outside, please? Now! I'm really late, hurry, please!" he shouted, before ending the call, shortly watching where he was running, and then calling his sister.

"Hey, Zuzu."

"There was an accident downtown. I'm not going to make it on time," he panted.

Azula was silent for a short while. "Are you absolutely sure?" she then hissed. "You still have half an hour!"

If he wasn't running, he might have laughed at that time window. Yeah, half an hour was definitely enough.

"I'm not even at Katara's yet. And my car is downtown, and there's the accident, and all the streets are blocked, and we'll have to take the underground, and then the bus to even get to you. Please, Azula, please, could you distract Father for a while? I'll text you as soon as we're there," he practically begged, still dashing down the street.

She took a deep, tired sounding breath. "Okay, fine. But you owe me."

Zuko gasped in relief. "Oh gods, thanks, Zula! You're absolutely the best sister in the world!"

"Yeah, and what else?" Her tone had taken on a nonchalant quality.

"You're amazing and brilliant." He turned the corner into the street where Katara had told him to pick her up. He realised it was the street on which her favourite coffee shop was.

Seriously? He risked being late for hot chocolate? Katara lived in a students' dormitory on campus. If she had just been there, instead of fifteen minutes away, all of this wouldn't have happened! He could have driven them to the Volcano Club without any delays.

But Jet was right, Zuko was not going to get all arsehole on Katara.

Running closer, he could see her standing outside of the coffee shop, waiting for him. She wore a beautiful blue dress with flowers on it and a white cardigan. It looked to be of a good quality, and Zuko was grateful she had chosen her province's colours. And on top of that, she simply looked beautiful, the flat shoes almost giving her an innocent aura, as he mentally compared her outfit to the girls he usually saw walking in and out of the club. He had to smile.

"And?" Azula probed.

Zuko rolled his eyes. She always wanted to hear it, but never said it to him.

"I love you. Happy now?"

"Very. Just don't be too late. I might be able to distract Father for half an hour, and I can pay some people claiming they saw you, but that's all I can do for you."

Zuko's smile widened, and he slowed down in front of Katara. "That's still good enough. You're the best. I gotta go now."

"Good. Bye."

He ended his phone call, taking one step closer to Katara, who raised a hand to stop him from kissing her. He tensed. He had acted on instinct and thought they would greet each other like a couple, as they were in public.

Katara pressed her lips together, one eyebrow raised. "Er… Who was that on the phone?"

He blinked. "Azula. Why?"

Her eyes widened a little, and it almost looked like a blush spread on her cheeks. "Er… Nothing. Well, er, are we going?"

He felt a little disappointed at obviously not getting to kiss her, but he nodded, took her hand and led her along the street. He filled her in on the urgent situation, and that they would have to hurry. "And under no circumstances can my father know we haven't been on time. He's very strict regarding punctuality. "

Katara seemed amused. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

His hold on her hand tightened. She had no idea how else his father could be. If she thought about him like this, she had already lost.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!:D Please let me know what your thoughts are! I love reading them. _

_So, as you can see things are slowly progressing with our two reluctant love birds. But, well, the situation is still a mess and morally questionable. _

_I thought of having a clichée morning between Zuko and Katara, when they wake up and notice with shock that they started cuddling at some point during the night, and are now completely entangled. Then they notice how nice it feels, and they remain completely still, because they don't want to end this. But I rejected the idea, as it really is an absolute clichée. I don't mind clichées at all, I'm frequently using them, but to be able to say "No clichee this time!" also feels kind of good. And don't worry, they will have their cuddly mornings. _

_For further clarification, if someone was wondering, Zuko did not go to the bathroom to pee. Since the characters are adult, and I want to keep it realistic, I put this in, but didn't describe anything or used more precise language. Do you guys think I should already rate this M, or do you think it will still be okay for now as T? I actually only wanted to change the rating when things between Zuko and Katara will get more steamy. _

_And we had Kya! I was so worried about writing this, as I have no idea what kind of person Kya was. She's seldom alive in fics, and I don't think I ever read anything except a prologue in which she was alive. But while writing, I suddenly didn't have to think a lot anymore. I leaned on Sokka and Kya from LoK for help to write this Kya. I want Katara and Kya to have a relaxed and friendly relationship, in which they act a lot like friends, but it would somehow still be clear that they are mother and daughter. I wanted Kya to be a little bit of a meddler to show where Katara gets it from. Kya should be fun, but could also be serious. I didn't want her to only radiate maternal warmth and love, but be a real woman with a personality. Katara and Kya had a relatively normal life in this fic, apart from the constant moving, so they have a loving, normal mother-daughter-relationship. It might have seemed out of character how I described Katara's relationship to her mother during her teenager years, but Katara in here didn't lose her mother. She doesn't know how this feels like, and doesn't constantly think about how much her mother meant to her. Normal mothers can be annoying. They can infuriate you. It doesn't mean Katara doesn't love Kya in this fic. And since Kya was alive, Katara also didn't need to grow up so fast. She herself is still caring, but not so much motherly, as she didn't need to be the mother for anyone. That remained Kya's role. _

_I hope you liked the mother-daughter-interaction, and that you understand my reasoning behind it. _

_I've wrote before that not many people of the Water Tribes, aka the Northern or Southern Provinces live in the capital, so the inhabitants aren't used to seeing them, and they also definitely have never seen any rich people from the Southern or Northern Provinces. They all believe what they hear on the radio and watch in the news, and they all envision these provinces to be tiny villages in snowy valleys, where people are hunting fish and herding caribous. So, it's why the tiny saleswoman wasn't so thrilled at seeing them. _

_Some of you might think that Zuko overreacted a little over being too late, but firstly, it was because he is afraid of Ozai's wrath, and more so, his punishments. And secondly, I needed him to snap in public, close to an old lady. He had to seem very vulgar, violent, and unlikeable. Maybe some of you already figured out why I needed to put this in. _

_Margaux is pronounced like Margo, it was just the only French name which came to my mind that can be pronounced in English without completely mispronouncing the vowels, and which also looked French without having an own English counterpart to it. My first thought was Chloé, but that's just Klowy in English, and that does not sound French. _

_And yes, some Asian people do film European (or people of other ethnicities who don't look Asian) tourists in underground trains. It certainly doesn't happen every time, but it happened to me once, and that was kind of funny, actually, and I just thought about an underground in an Asian country, while writing this, so that came to my mind, and I added it. _

_Hm, and I guess that's it. I don't have any more to say to this chapter. If you're confused by something, wonder why something was the way it was, just let me know.:D _

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Thanks for reviewing!:) Thank you, yes, I know it was short, unfortunately, but it didn't feel right to draw that out. How exactly do you mean 'incompetent'? Do you mean Azula will simply provoke Katara or actually make her drop the act? __  
_

_To _Smckoy929_: Thanks for your review, and thanks, here it is!:) Or was, if you're already reading this. I hope you liked it:)  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Thanks for your review!:) Actually, I've first read it in an ATLA fic by a person from New Zealand, I think. Since I read things from people who write American English or people who write British Eglish, and watch films and series with both, too, I sometimes mix it... For example, I mostly write 'lift', but I also mostly use 'apartment' instead of 'flat'. It's not intentional, and at the university I had to choose one way of spelling and pronouncing, and I actually chose the British one. Maybe you noticed that I'm spelling some words the British way, for example organisation instead of organization. But I still get most media in American English, so the colloquial English of mine probably sounds more American, since I've read that more, apart from some words like snogging. I didn't know the word before, but I decided I like it. It sounds semantically different than 'to make out' to me, even though it probably isn't. A lot of British versus American terms sound semantically different to foreign ears, actually. Or, at least, my ears. However, I especially like how you can say 'to snog someone senseless'. But you can't say 'to make out someone senseless', as 'to make out' is not a direct verb, and it's a phrasal verb. I guess it will depend on my mood which word I'm going to use for future chapters, and if the last time I read about it in English I read 'snog' or 'make out'... I wouldn't say the word suddenly showed up, as I never really wrote about snogging/making out before in this fic, or did I? I mean, it's only now that Katara and Zuko are maybe going to do that. But maybe I used 'make out', and already forgot it... But your review got me thinking... At the university I chose British English, but sometimes I feel weird writing in a more British way about an American TV show, in which the characters all have an American accent and definitely speak AE. But, in this fic, Elementia is a former British colony (I decided on that to explain why Asian people in an Asian country speak English), so they wouldn't speak AE, right? Maybe some variety of BE, but honestly, I'm just confused. It would make sense for people in Elementia to speak in a more British way, but the characters of the show still speak AE. Well, I don't think I'm going to find a solution, but I hope it's not too confusing for you, when British and American English mix. I know, I would think it strange when a variety of my language would mix with the variety I speak..._


	21. Chapter 20

_Hi everyone! I'm sorry this took so long! I had quite the trouble writing this scene, but here it is. _

_I hope you'll enjoy. _

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. _

* * *

**Chapter Twenty **

Katara was still pissed at how she had ruined her chance at being greeted with a kiss from Zuko. But he had told someone on the phone he loved them and had said they were the best, and… somehow maybe Katara had felt a little insecure. What if Zuko actually really liked some girl, but couldn't be with her openly, as his father wanted him to be with someone like Katara? For a short moment, she had felt afraid of it, although she hadn't really got why.

Now, sitting in a bus next to Zuko, who was vibrating with nervous energy, squeezing and unsqueezing her hand every minute, she felt more relaxed again. Almost annoyed, actually.

She had made such a drama about her outfit, argued with her mother, asked him what she should wear, had bought something new just for this occasion, and he didn't even say anything! The fact that she wanted him to say something unnerved her a little, but it wasn't like she felt very confident in this look. Since she had moved to Ba Sing Se, she preferred pants and skirts over dresses, and she never wore anything so… plain. What she was wearing was beautiful, of course, but she still felt a little like an innocent, good girl in her blue dress and white flats. Maybe she should have tried the heels. Her hair was up in a messy bun that had cost her half an hour to make it look perfect as she had thought leaving her hair down would only strengthen the air of innocence that surrounded her.

Zuko checked his watch every minute, often biting on his lower lip, and bobbing his right leg up and down. It pretty much drove Katara crazy.

Leaning towards him, she squeezed his side with the hand he didn't use as stress reliever, and hissed "Would you calm down? You're making me crazy with all your fidgeting."

His jaw tightened, as he turned towards her. "I told you we can't be late!"

"But we will be late, and there is nothing we can do about it. Azula might be able to conceal our delay, or not, but we won't know until we're there, so there is no point at getting all worked up now!"

He sucked in a breath, and for a moment his face twisted in a nasty expression, which caused Katara to narrow her eyes and brace herself for an angry retort or even implied insult. She had already seen that Zuko didn't hold back, when he was angry, although she thought that Jet didn't really take the insults hurled his way seriously, as he called Zuko various insults without even feeling anger at him.

But he stilled, furrowed his brow and then groaned, smashing his head against his seat. "I know!"

Katara blinked, feeling surprised at how easily he had let her off.

Whenever Katara had visited him and found him in a state of distress, which was more often than not, and Jet had tried to calm him down, it had only led Zuko to explode. He really still had to work on his aggression problems in Katara's opinion, but so far, he had never exploded on her, always had been thoughtful and pleasant. When she had helped him to prepare the English breakfast on Sunday, and she hadn't cut the tomatoes like he wanted it, his eyebrow had started twitching, but he hadn't said a thing. When Jet later messed up with baking scones, Zuko hadn't held back and had unleashed pent up anger, which a psychologist should look into, on his friend.

Katara knew she had thought badly of Zuko before for being mean to Jet, but there was just no one who could live with that guy and not constantly have to yell at him. After seeing the two of them interact in the apartment, and seeing what all Zuko did and allowed Jet, she was surprised there hadn't been a physical fight yet. But Zuko had told her he was working on not beating up people.

For the longest time of her life, Katara had despised him, and would have seen everything imperfect about him as a reason to hate him, but now? It was different. She had developed some sort of uncaring resistance to Zuko's outbursts. When he had started yelling at Jet on Sunday, she had only rolled her eyes and thought 'Not this again! When will Jet learn?'. For once in her life, she hadn't immediately started bitching about Zuko in her head, but simply accepted something imperfect about him. It felt weird, but that was how she had managed to cope with it.

Zuko had never yelled at her since they started fake dating, and she also hoped he never would, but that was probably wishful thinking. She had already told herself over and over that yelling didn't mean hating people. They had yelled an awful lot at each other in high school, sure, but Katara also yelled frequently at her brother, Toph, and Aang, even when they still had been happy. The other people in the room probably felt the same annoyance at her that she felt every time Zuko yelled at Jet. If it would come to Zuko yelling at her, she would simply yell back.

The problem was that for all the yelling Katara had done in her life, only less than the half of it had yelled back. Her mother yelled and Toph also never kept back in volume. She was used to being yelled at by these people. She knew it didn't mean they didn't love her. But it was different with Zuko. Whenever he had yelled at her, she had known she despised him and he despised her. She didn't despise him anymore, though. She liked him. And she wanted him to like her, too. However, the moment of him yelling at her hadn't come yet.

"Just… think about something else. You can't influence what will happen now, Zuko," she tried gently.

Licking his lips, he nodded. "Yeah… I know that, theoretically. It's just not easy to stay calm."

"It'll be okay. And if it won't, you'll still have me on your side. Or I could take all the blame, and say I kept you waiting, because I still needed to do something," she went on.

He opened his eyes and bent down, smiling at her. "Thanks, Katara. But I wouldn't want you to do that."

They were sitting so close, and suddenly his face was very close, too. Their hands were still intertwined, and if they were a real couple, she would kiss him now, and then snuggle closer to him, but… The problem was that she wanted to kiss him and snuggle closer to him. She didn't think 'I could do that now to make everyone in this bus believe we're a couple', no, her thoughts were 'This would be a perfect moment to kiss him, because he's already so close, and I want him to be closer'. Those were thoughts someone in a fake relationship shouldn't have.

And maybe she was crazy, but the fact he hadn't exploded on her, but that she had managed to calm him down, and that he was now smiling at her, felt so meaningful to her. As if this was reason enough to kiss him. She felt powerful knowing she had calmed him down, as if it were her own, personal super power.

With a nervous laugh, she tried to make these thoughts disappear. "Okay, well, the offer stands."

His smile seemed to soften, his golden gaze reminding her of the sun again, before his eyes roamed down her frame. "You look good, by the way. What you've bought, I mean. It looks pretty on you. Bu-but you don't look good because of it. The dress… and you… look good."

That was probably the most awkward compliment Katara had ever got. Even Aang had been more eloquent. But in its own way, it was still charming, and she felt blood rushing into her cheeks. "Is it good enough for the Volcano Club? The ladies in the shop said it would be okay."

He seemed to suppress a grin, as he bit on his lower lip. "It is good enough, although you still might attract some attention, as most girls our age there… They like to flaunt their wealth, and not in subtle ways. Only families as old as mine do it in a more subtle way. So you're perfectly dressed for them, that I can assure you. Besides, it's just lunch." He shrugged, and Katara wondered if that meant she would have to wear something even fancier for a dinner. She remembered the dinner she had with Ozai and Ursa, and how terribly underdressed she'd been, although she had done that on purpose, wanting to ignite a reaction of disgust towards her. But now, she was actually really concerned if they would like her at Zuko's side.

oOo

When they arrived at the Volcano Club, almost jogging from the bus station, people were glaring disdainfully at them, because they had dared to arrive per bus, while everyone else here had a car. Some of the glares turned sheepish not long after, and Katara suspected the people to have recognised Zuko. Although she wondered how that was possible, because as soon as they were inside, all the young men she saw looked a little like Zuko. They were all wearing dress pants and button down shirts. Some of them even wore braces! Without the vest and jacket, this was probably the lunch look. Then, all the young men were relatively muscular, all had broad shoulders and a broad back, and even their hair was almost all the same. If it was long enough, it was all combed or slicked back. If it was too short for that, they honestly wore a side parting.

Zuko hadn't combed his hair back today, but she suspected he had got a hair cut in the last two days, as he had loudly declared on Sunday while watching _Harry_ _Potter_ that Draco Malfoy was a disgusting kid and he didn't want to have his hair style. Though, Zuko's hair didn't look like it had the last time she had seen him with not combed back hair. It didn't hang loosely into his face, but it looked neater, his fringe not falling over his eyebrows anymore.

A waiter had approached them and told them they could already go to their table, drinks had already been ordered, the glasses only half full.

Katara frowned at that, but looking at Zuko's relieved face, she thought it was probably part of Azula's plan to make it look like they had been there all along. Zuko hurried them over to the large, round table at the centre of the room, and Katara's eyes almost fell out of her head. The fact that the owners of the Volcano Club were faithful royalists was pretty much evident wherever Katara looked. Maybe only their ancestors had been royalists and the current owners hadn't have time to redecorate, but all this gold and red was painfully present. The walls were painted in a light red, the wooden furniture was polished to a brownish red shade, and all the embellishments around the room, as well as the lamps were golden. A lot of potted plants, some blossoming, were scattered around the room, giving it a lighter feeling. But she still felt highly uncomfortable.

The pitiful and contemptible looks she got from everyone certainly didn't help. Zuko had been right. The women her age showed their wealth pretty strongly. It felt like being punched in the face by the most famous and successful designers on earth. There were meaningful Cs, Gs, Ds, Ms, Ls, Vs, and all the other letters all over the room. Not that Katara knew about every one of them, but every letter looked important. Worse was only the fact that they mostly wore sleeveless tops with their hair down, all flouncing around on high heeled shoes, grasping clutches in their hands. It was on the one hand utterly ridiculous to watch these girls, but on the other hand, it only showed Katara how much she didn't belong here.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, as they sat down.

She must have looked a little frightened, probably. With raised eyebrows, she pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yeah. Sitting in the middle of old royalist families, all swimming in money, while I'm only pretending… I feel great, Zuko!"

He slid closer to her on the bench, grasping her hand again. "Don't worry. You'll do great." His hand wandered to her knee, squeezing it reassuringly.

She tried to smile at him, as she took off her cardigan, feeling slightly better at having her arms now uncovered. The only problem that this brought with it was her skin colour. Everyone in this whole room was pale, or slightly sun kissed, but her arms were darker than everyone else's. She knew these people here looked down on her people, and she clenched her hands to fists.

Zuko's arm sneaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as he pressed his lips to her cheek. "I know it's much, but please do this for me, yeah?"

She sighed. "I wouldn't be here if I wouldn't already know I'll do this. The people here just make me uncomfortable."

"I'll show all of them through all of lunch that we're a couple, and I care about you, alright?" he murmured. "No one will dare to look strangely at you."

She chuckled slightly, unconsciously leaning further towards him. He felt so warm.

Just then, Katara noticed Ozai coming towards them, his face clearly annoyed, as Ursa and Azula walked quickly behind him, Azula keeping on talking about something.

"But he's an absolute incompetent fool, Dad! I want him gone!" she whined.

Ozai sighed. "Fine. I'll fire him. Now stop whining and show yourself from your best side during this lunch. This is very important," he almost hissed at her.

Ursa was watching the two of them with raised eyebrows, before walking around Ozai to greet her son and his girlfriend.

Katara nervously pressed her lips together.

"Zuko!" Ursa stretched one arm out to help him stand, and he immediately greeted her with a bone crushing hug.

She smiled, her chin on his shoulder, and Katara had to smile, too. That was some mother-son love. Ursa had her eyes pressed together, as she ran one hand through Zuko's hair. Her eyes opened again, and she stepped back, pushing him an arm's length away.

"What have you done to your hair, Zuko?" she exclaimed in faux shock.

He smiled sheepishly. "It kind of looked too posh. This looks nicer."

Ursa ruffled his hair again. "You're right. You look like when you were six."

Katara chuckled.

"Muuuuum!"

"Oh, Katara!" Ursa stepped around Zuko, pressing herself between him and the table to get to Katara. She wore a violet wrap dress with long sleeves that ended at her knees, the fabric almost looking like normal t-shirt fabric, but on her it looked like a thousand Yuan dress. "It is so good to see you again. I'm so glad you decided we are not as psychotic as Ozai's ancestors. It's good to see you with Zuko."

Katara hoped there was no hidden insult in her words, and smiled, standing up to shake Ursa's hands, but she enveloped her in a hug, too. Katara wrapped her arms shortly around Ursa, and then looked over at Zuko, smiling. "Well, I never doubted Zuko's psyche, but I couldn't be sure about his family. But I am now."

"Well, it's good to hear that. I must say, you look lovely, Katara. That is such a nice dress." Ursa smiled, before pushing herself between Katara and the table, moving on to the end of the bench and sitting down on a chair next to it.

"Thank you," Katara smiled at Ursa. Well, that had sounded genuine, at least.

Ozai watched her with an unsatisfied look, before his face split in a tight smile, as he greeted Zuko with that handshake/hug men did, and Katara then with two kisses on her cheeks. "Katara! How are you?"

"Fine, thanks. And how are you? Busy with the campaign, I suppose?"

Ozai raised one eyebrow. "That puts it mildly." His voice sounded tired and resigned.

Katara laughed quietly. "Well, I'm sure it'll be all worth it."

He smiled a little at her, before taking his place next to Ursa. None of them wore a jacket, and Katara wondered if there was a place here where people put their jackets and coats, as it was warm enough inside. But in a fancy place as this one here, surely, a worker should have asked them to take their jackets.

Azula greeted Zuko with a hug and two kisses on his cheeks, smacking her lips dramatically loudly. "Mpfwah! Mpfwah!"

She looked a little like all the other girls here, but in a way subtler manner. Her top wasn't sleeveless, and one also couldn't see her stomach or cleavage, but the white blouse was tight, the straight décolleté leaving her shoulders bare, the long sleeves clinging to her thin, but defined arms. The straight, white dress pants, hanging from Azula's hips like a waterfall made the outfit complete. Her hair was up in a chignon, golden earrings dangling from her ears, her lips painted in a blood red colour. To Katara, this still looked, too, like an evening outfit.

Katara felt terribly underdressed and way too innocent looking. She looked like some country girl in her flower dress! Okay, well, that wasn't really true, but in comparison to Azula she might as well be.

Azula nodded at her. "Miss Bossy. Glad to see you left denim in your wardrobe."

Katara's eyes narrowed. "Azula. I see you didn't check on your make up before coming here. There's a smudge of lipstick, did you know? Right there."* She pointed at the left upper side of her lip.

Azula didn't seem to believe her, and rolled her eyes before sitting down next to Zuko. There was still enough space for her on the bench, too.

"Azula! Is that a way to greet your brother's girlfriend?" Ursa scolded.

Azula dramatically rolled her eyes. "I couldn't stand her in high school, and I'm not going to pretend I do now. Honestly, I don't get how you can be a couple." Her cold stare went back to Katara, who had just sat down and slid a little closer to Zuko. "I mean, you hated each other."

Zuko seemed to stiffen next to Katara, and she wondered why he would react like this. Hollywood showed all the time that people who first hate each other often end up as a couple. In her opinion, she didn't think their history would make their relationship now less believable.

"Is that so?" Ozai asked slowly, a calculating glint in his eyes.

Katara chuckled, laying a hand on Zuko's chest. "Yes, well, I thought he was an arrogant idiot who thought too much of himself. Our friends couldn't stand each other, too, so we were swept up in that childish rivalry."

"Yeah. We didn't even really know each other and never really had a reason not to like each other. It was all rather silly and childish," Zuko added, squeezing her hand.

"Oh, well. That sounds plausible," Ursa replied, her face thoughtful.

Katara felt nervous, as she wondered if that piece of information would maybe make this family hate her.

"I remember it a little differently," Azula piped up.

"We really don't need to focus on the past, Zula. Katara and I worked through it. So drop it," Zuko warned his sister, his tone almost a little aggressive.

Katara smirked when she heard him call her "Zula". She had to remember that.

Rolling her eyes, Azula grabbed the menu to choose something and look preoccupied.

"I always like it when people who were enemies once suddenly get along," Ozai commented with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Enemies sounds a bit too serious," Katara chuckled, trying to keep everything nice and friendly.

"Yeah, and like we said… That's over now," Zuko added, wrapping his right arm around her hip, pulling her a bit closer.

A weird feeling ignited behind her navel at his gesture, but she tried not to let it show on her face.

"So, I don't know a lot about the Volcano Club, but it looks really nice," Katara tried to start a new topic. Even though it wasn't true. Okay, apart from the colours and way too rich looking people it looked very beautiful. All held a very elegant style to it, and if Katara would have been a visitor from another country, not knowing what this colour theme meant, then she might have felt better, and then she might have even been astounded.

"Oh, it is!" Ursa exclaimed. "My family has been official members for centuries, back when there were only old men with long beards here, reading philosophy and practising with swords. But my parents have never gone here, and only with Ozai did I come. The food here has a real high quality, the chef was trained in Paris, and even cooked in a five-star-restaurant. But what I like most about the club are the events. Sometimes, they bring dancers, singers, or they even perform a play on stage. The celebration to the Geshi Festival is always grand and beautiful here." She talked with a clear tone of excitement in her voice, her eyes shining with fascination.

Ozai rolled his eyes. "The club is not about celebrations, Ursa. It's to keep old families together. Our ancestors have known almost all of the ancestors of the people in this room. Of course, there are always the new rich people who think they have to be part of the club. But this provides a comfortable and familiar environment for families. There is children day care, several sport clubs, and opportunity to meet friends. If we would have sent Zuko and Azula to a sports club in town, they wouldn't have known anybody, and it's the same with eating here."

"So you're basically afraid to get out of your comfort zone?" Katara bit on her lower lip right after she'd said that. It had sounded critical, way too critical.

Ozai raised one eyebrow, and Ursa pursed her lips. Azula looked like she wanted to laugh, and Katara didn't dare to look at Zuko. How would he react? Was his jaw tensed, and did his nostrils flare the way they did before he exploded?

But in the end, Ursa just shrugged, a small smile on her lips, and Ozai even seemed to chuckle. "You're probably right there, Katara. Most of the people here, and I must say the same about myself, would never think about going to a normal place in town, even though it would be five-stars."

"Humans are slaves of habit, after all," Katara said, smiling, and hoped no one would think she had something against them based on how they didn't like the idea of going anywhere else.

"That is true," Azula commented. "After all, Zuko was so used to dislike you that the moment he got together with you, he still felt so ashamed he couldn't even tell his family."

Katara flinched at those words, and almost missed the flinching of Zuko himself. Why did he flinch? Had he… really… no, there was no need. They weren't really together, after all. Or maybe this was the reason he had felt ashamed. He would have never been interested in her, if it weren't for his father's plan, and maybe he had never wanted to show someone like Katara on his side. She didn't think he was especially appalled by her origin, or social status, but maybe it was more because of their history than she thought? Or he still couldn't stand her personality back then?

"Azula, silence yourself!" Ozai snapped.

She rolled her eyes again in that nonchalant way she did, as if what she had said hadn't had such a great impact on Katara at all.

"Dad knew," Zuko said, in a quiet, but defensive way.

Azula narrowed her eyes at him, and Katara remembered how insulted Azula had seemed on Sunday when she had complained about their father knowing and her not.

"Maybe your reaction to Katara is why I didn't tell you!" Zuko snarled by now.

"Zuko," Ursa said in a warning voice, before forcing a smile on her lips. "We want to enjoy this coming together right now and be happy for Zuko! And until the next time we all see each other, you better get this sorted out!" Her tone held a commanding edge to it, as she gave Zuko and Azula equal narrow glares.

"It's not about Zuko, it's about her!" Azula complained, nodding in Katara's direction.

"Yeah, everyone got you can't stand me…"

Azula rolled her eyes. "Don't be so daft."

"Azula!" Ozai all but roared.

Tables in their close proximity already seemed to have noticed the quarrel, as heads were turning towards them, and their names were suddenly whispered.

"You were a downright bitch to Zuko in high school. I know your family hasn't much money. So for what other reason would you be here than for my family's money?"

Katara's jaw went slack, as her eyes grew wide. Somehow, she felt guilty, because… Well, this was actually the exact reason she was here. She hadn't really liked Zuko when she agreed to do this, but she had known that she didn't dislike him anymore. The guilt she was feeling didn't really make sense. It wasn't like she still couldn't stand Zuko, after all. She liked him, but she wasn't lying to him about her feelings. He didn't think she liked him more than she actually did.

A few moments Katara was just speechless, blinking and shaking her head, before she managed to sort her feelings out. "So you think your brother isn't endearing or loveable enough for me to feel something for him?"

Azula's frown turned into a downright scowl, but before she could reply, or her parents could say anything again, a waiter appeared on their table, looking slightly nervous with a fake smile, his technological device ready to type down their order.

"Ah, the Kasaishis," he greeted them and bowed. "It's great to see you again. I saw you brought a guest… and are more vocal than usual."

Ursa tensed, as her confused and shocked gaze met the waiter in front of them.

Everyone seemed slightly offended, and Katara didn't know what to think about this. She had thought the Kasaishis were respected in this environment. That the waiter was talking to them like this… For a moment she was confused, but she realised the waiter had meant the family was arguing louder than normal _because_ of her presence.

Her hand tightened around Zuko's.

"Well, our family discussions are hardly your business, am I right?" Ozai said coldly, his eyes sharp and one eyebrow slightly raised. In that moment, he reminded Katara a lot of Zuko. It was really almost uncomfortable how similar they looked. If Katara hadn't known how Ozai looked like, and she would have met him saying he was Zuko from the future, she would have believed it.

The waiter flushed pink, before he nodded. "Yes, of course, sir. You're right."

"Not that it's any of your business, but you will see this girl here more often, as she is Zuko's girlfriend, thus part of the family."

It was a very uncomfortable and slightly embarrassing situation, and Katara had no idea how to react in this moment.

The waiter seemed to wrinkle his nose, as he looked at her, and Katara felt hot anger rise up inside of her. How dare this person judge her without knowing her? How dare he judge her simply based on the tone of her skin and origin?

Sometimes, Katara wished the Southern Province and the Northern Province were one country, because then there wouldn't be any other people in it who would make her feel like an alien. With her own people and their sisters and brothers in the North, she felt at home. She felt welcomed and accepted. She liked the capital as a city, and most people here were friendly towards her family and her, but she still felt like an outsider sometimes. It was a strange, subconscious feeling that told her she would never belong. Her skin tone was darker, her eyes were different. She would always look different. That was all what people needed to make someone feel excluded.

"Oh, well. Welcome to the Volcano Club, Miss," the waiter greeted her with a forced smile, and then looked immediately back at Ozai, as if he couldn't stand the sight of her.

"Now, what is your order today, Kasaishi?"

Zuko quickly picked the menu from Azula, who gave him an insulted look to which he hissed "You are always picking the same thing anyway!" before handing the menu to Katara.

"Is there something you'd like?" he whispered in her ear, as Ozai gave his order.

Katara scrunched her nose, opening the menu. "Something which won't be spit on or poisoned would be nice," she muttered darkly, glaring up at the waiter again.

Zuko snorted, and Katara felt a new wave of anger rolling over her. Well, of course he snorted. _He_ didn't know how this felt like!

"They wouldn't dare," he said almost threateningly, and Katara felt slightly appeased.

"Well, they seem to lose fear of your family with me here," she whispered back.

"It's their problem if they're so daft to lose fear of us," he declared in a dramatic manner. "Now pick something."

She shot him a short glare for his commanding tone, before skimming through the menu, looking for fish. She had noticed some weeks ago that fish meals weren't that spicy in comparison to meat meals in the Western Province. She settled for grilled mackerel with sauce, grilled chives and udon noodles.

The entire menu sounded a lot finer than what she read on the menus of the small take away places she liked to go to downtown. Not only that the ingredients were finer and not the typical beef, chicken, shrimps, salmon, or tuna variety, but the offer was larger with a wider range of meat, fish, vegetables, and sides. Some things Katara had never even heard of. But what struck Katara the most were the prices for every meal. It was around five times as much as she would have had to pay for in a normal place downtown. She suspected people didn't only pay for the food, but for the name of the club and the club as well.

Until the food arrived, the conversations turned to Ozai's campaign, how it was going, and how the other candidates were working. Ozai actually proved to look like one of the more sincere and serious candidates. He had an air of professionality about him that the others seemed to lack.

Katara answered a few questions about her studies, her new flat in the dormitory, and also about her family. When she was questioned about her life, she realised that she had no idea what she could tell people what her job was if they asked. It had to be something untraceable. If she told them, she worked in a café, people could easily go there, ask for her, and find out she had lied. She needed a job that would best be performed from her home.

Azula spoke a lot about the new boutique she had found, which had very beautiful dresses. She had gone there thrice and then directly been asked if she would be interested in some free clothes in exchange for some advertisement. Azula planned on getting the clothes on Friday, make a photoshoot on Sunday and post it all on her various social media accounts, mentioning the boutique. It was not the first time this had happened to Azula, as she had managed with her style, constant posts of sports, beauty, food, fashion and whatever Kasaishi Azula deemed worthy of her time to become a real it-girl.

As far as Katara knew, that was the only job Azula had. She probably already did some things for the family business, too, but she didn't seem interested in getting educated the way Zuko was.

Katara tried not to show her distaste of that too much, as she also tried to turn herself into a more tolerant person. She couldn't criticise rich people for being rich, if she didn't at least gave them a chance. Contemning the life style of the rich was easy when you were poor. But giving it a chance to seem like a serious, hard-working job was difficult. Katara wanted to try, though. She tried to understand Azula, her struggles to decide whether to attend the party of an internet millionaire this week-end, or the party of a fellow it-girl.

Yeah, Katara wished those were her worst problems. But she tried. She really did try not to contempt Azula for being rich. But soon, she noticed that Azula being rich wasn't the problem. Azula being incredibly arrogant and self-centred was the problem.

Whenever waiters would walk past them, they shot curious looks towards Katara. Sometimes they were only curious, sometimes contempt, disgust, and more often than not disbelief mixed with it.

When Zuko noticed the looks, he always tightened his grip around her and glared at the bypassing people. She knew he didn't have to do that, as he didn't owe her anything, and he could also just pretend not to see the looks, but he chose to show he was standing on her side. He chose to do it, but he didn't have to, and for some reason it warmed Katara's heart.

When their food arrived, Katara's was missing.

The waiter was shocked and quickly ran back to check up on it, and when he came back, he wringed his hands, clearly feeling nervous, almost frightened. He didn't look at Katara, not even at Ozai when he told them, but at Ursa.

"Th-the food hasn't been prepared, because we're out of mackerel."

Katara scrunched up her nose, not liking that now she had to choose a new meal, whereas the mackerel had seemed so perfect.

"That can't be true," Azula said. "I just saw someone bringing that dish out, and the receiving table ordered their meals after we did." Her eyes seemed to pierce through the waiter like a spear, as she fixed him with her glare.

He gulped, baring his teeth in a nervous smile. "Er, well, that is just what I was told from the kitchen…"

"Then make. The kitchen. Check. Again! Or aren't you aware that a customer should always be informed immediately when an ingredient is missing? You don't just show up with nothing," she said as if the man had failed to sing the alphabet for her.

"Erm… Yes, I shall return to the kitchen. Right away," he added, bowed, and scurried off.

Zuko seemed angered and tense, and the rest of the family also looked as if they were just waiting for a fight.

Katara tried to wave it away. "Ah, it's fine. I'm not that hungry. Go on, you can start."

Ozai gave her a sideway look. "It is not fine at all, Katara. The service of the club should be immaculate."

Ursa nodded in agreement. "Yes. And if they are going to bring your meal with delay, they better reheat ours, or they will face our wrath." She slammed her small fist on the table, but Ozai chuckled and laid his hand on her fist.

"Calm down, darling. It won't be that bad."

Katara bit nervously on her lip, as she glanced up at Zuko. He stared at the opposite side of the room without really focusing on anything, and she could tell that he also had no idea what to do.

When the waiter didn't come back for five minutes, Zuko let out a growl and stood. "I'm going to…"

"You're not going to do anything," Ozai snapped, his eyes wide and brows contorted. The changed, sudden enraged expression on his face surprised and shocked Katara a little.

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to handle this."

"But Father…"

"No, Zuko." Ozai got up and walked away, in the direction where the waiter had gone.

The tension at the table became thicker, and to describe the atmosphere as uncomfortable was probably an understatement.

Katara worried her lip and didn't look at the others. What would Ozai do? She really didn't want to be the cause of a scene or maybe even of the family getting into trouble with the staff.

To Katara's surprise, Ozai didn't reappear with a cook or waiter, but with a man his age, dressed in beige trousers and a white polo shirt. He was looking curiously at her, as Ozai led him towards their table.

"Kazan, this is Katara, my son's girlfriend," he said with a deep breath. "Her food wasn't brought, because apparently, the mackerel is used up. But instead of informing us on this, her meal was simply forgotten." Ozai's voice rose now a bit in his anger. "I will not have this. It can't be that your staff are so lousy as to forget a meal!"

Kazan's eyes were on Katara for a while, before drifting over to Ozai, looking calculatingly at the angered businessman. "I'm sure my staff had their reasons, if they really lied."

Katara wished she could throw her glass of water at that man.

"Reasons?" Zuko snapped, standing up, but Azula pulled him down again, and when he moved to snap at her, too, Katara pulled at his other arm. It really looked like Ozai didn't need any help.

"You will serve this woman a meal, as it is done in a restaurant. The meal she ordered! I don't care about your own simple-minded _reasons_, but as my son's girlfriend, she's sitting here as our guest, as part of my family, and if you can't accept that, then in the future, we will get our expensive lunch somewhere else.** You don't really want to insult the Kasaishi family." The words were clearly a threat, and Katara sat stiff like a board, overwhelmed with sympathy for this man, but at the same time disbelief. She didn't think badly of Ozai anymore, but she would have never expected him to defend her so vehemently. Maybe this was where Zuko got his temper from.

Kazan narrowed his eyes, his face showing an unhappy expression. It was obvious that he didn't want to respect Katara, but that he didn't want to draw the Kasaishis wrath upon him, either.

Clenching his jaw, he nodded at last.

"And get these meals warm again. We will only eat together," Ozai said, gesturing to the plates on the table.

Snapping his fingers, Kazan turned on his heel and rushed away, as two waiters walked past him, collecting the meals of the Kasaishi family, bowing before retreating.

When Ozai sat again, the whole hall was still silent, and just then did Katara realise that almost everyone had probably watched them. She really wanted to die from mortification. As right as Ozai had been, and as thankful as she was to him, being the centre of the coming gossip was the last thing Katara wanted.

Still, she cleared her throat and bowed to Zuko's father. "Thank you, Ozai. That wouldn't have been necessary. But I really appreciate your effort."

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, before waving her thanks away. "It was nothing. Don't mention it, Katara. That's simply how we do things."

Azula made a noncommittal sound, and glanced around. "You know people have filmed you, right, Dad? This will go viral."

The thought struck Katara, and she nervously glanced at Zuko, as she wondered if Ozai had also done this for his reputation. Parading his son's girlfriend around was surely going to help him winning over the votes of the lower classes or of the Northern and Southern Province, but speaking out for her, defending her in the midst of his own would probably push his popularity to completely new levels. She could already see the video and comments in her mind.

But no one mentioned the campaign, and maybe Katara was just overly suspicious, which was normally not like her, so she pushed the thought away with a shrug.

Zuko groaned. "Oh no. I hate it when we're in the news!"

Ursa chuckled. "Your father is running for president, Zuko. How could you not be in the news?"

Zuko gave her a sheepish look. "Well, it's kind of embarrassing that people will see that I brought Katara to a place where she'd be treated like this," he added with a clenched jaw, his hands curling to fists.

Katara patted his arm. "Honestly, I'm glad you brought me. If you didn't, I would have thought you're ashamed of me," she tried for a lighter, teasing tone.

Zuko turned his face to her, his eyes suddenly serious, soft pools of liquid gold, and Katara's breath caught. "Never," he said quietly, his face looking so sincere as if he meant it. When he kissed her, she wanted to melt into his body, and strangely, she wasn't even surprised. Leaning closer to him had been an instinctual reaction, which had felt completely natural and normal. Although she had kissed him lots of times already, the kisses in public were different.

Her eyes shut immediately, as she held on to his shirt, just for a moment longer revelling in the feeling of his lips on hers, before he pulled back. She kissed him on his nose, what seemed to take him by surprise. He blinked, then flushed a little. She giggled.

"Aw, you're so sweet!" Ursa gushed, and Zuko's eyes widened indignantly.

"Muu-uuum!"

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know your thoughts!:)_

_So, for clarification. Ozai did only make such a fuss, because he knew he would be filmed, and then all of Elementia would already think he wasn't prejudiced towards Southeners or Northeners, as his ancestors were. _

_Kazan simply means volcano in Japanese, that's why I named the owner of the Volcano Club like this. At least, WordHippo says Kazan means volcano._

_* a Harry Potter quote from Hermione. One of my favourite ones from her, although it sounds more bitchy in the translation to my language, as there Hermione also says that the dirt on Ron's nose doesn't look nice. _

_** inspired by my favourite Sandra Bullock quote from The Blind Side, although she says that her salad, and not her lunch is expensive. I'm not sure if she even uses the word "expensive" there, as I never watched the film in English. _

__I fear Azula and Katara might have seemed a little out of character to some people, but this is just how I imagine Azula to be in such a more normal life. She can openly love and care for her brother, as well as for her mother. Although I always imagine Azula's love for her brother to be more of a possessive love. In a way that she doesn't think a lot about him or his feelings, but mostly just about his surroundings and about what could hurt him or be good for him in her opinion. ____Azula isn't very manipulative in here, and she would also rather confront Zuko or Katara alone, because then they wouldn't be able to keep their stories aligned. ____And Katara... Well, on the one hand there are adults with them she wants to impress, so she cannot really openly fight back at Azula. On the other hand, she also doesn't want to play the victim, so she was sassy, acted aloof, or turned Azula's words around. This might seem strange, but think about Katara's ability to support her friends' or brother's aliases without being asked, and without batting an eye. "Hi, I'm June Pippinpaddleopsocopolis. Nice to meet you." or "Sapphire Fire. Nice to meet you." That's why I think Katara could be a great actress who can shoot back fast and presumably without having to think much. She just lives her other character.__

__ And yes, I imagine an Azula in our world and our time to be an it girl. I mean, what else could the most beautiful girl in the Fire Nation, the most powerful and the most perfect teenager from the Avatar World be in our world? When all the girls want to be like her and all the boys want to have her? When her demeanour scares people, but when everyone is admiring her? Of course, Azula would be one of those high class it-girls. Maybe I will give her a model job later, or maybe something else will come to my mind. Maybe you know something that would fit Azula? Let me know what you think.:)  
__

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _Smckoy929_: Thanks! Well, I actually think their feelings are moving too fast. I have the moment in which they become a real couple planned, and as things are going now, I fear I'll have to write this way sooner than I intended to do, because I cannot leave both of them so oblivious to their own and each other's feelings for that long. Thanks for your feedback on the rating! Well, Zuko said something about Katara's outfit now, right?:) Thanks for reviewing!:D_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Ha, that's the actual reason why I learned to speak a mix of British and American English. Like you said, at school I learned some of the other varieties, too, but I don't think I'm using any of their words or am pronouncing words the way they do. I didn't know young British people do that, but it surely makes sense. I'm bilingual, too!:) But with French.  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Oh, it will. But it won't be that bad. Thanks! I was really nervous about the whole Kya thing, and in the beginning I struggled to decide if Kya should even be alive or not, but it is important for the story for her to be alive, so yeah... She's alive. Azula... Oh, that was really hard to write. Ozai who's pretending to be nice, Ursa who doesn't fully trust her husband and can't believe he accepts someone like Katara as their son's girlfriend, but who wants Katara to feel welcome, Azula who can't stand her from high school, mostly because Katara was mean to Zuko, and then Zuko who's nervous because of Ozai and being late, and Katara who's nervous because it feels like sitting in the lion's den, and at the same time she has to pretend to be in love with Zuko. So Azula didn't really provoke Katara, but she surely didn't make things easy for her. There was a lot to focus on for this chapter, so that's also why it got so long and took me so long. Thanks for your review!:D  
_


	22. Chapter 21

_Hello guys! I've finally had the time to update the next chapter (and write it)! I'm so sorry for the long wait, I had to get caught up to some uni stuff, as there will be exams at the end of this month. So I'm also not sure if I'll be able to post another chapter of this story before August. Or of my other stories.  
_

_So, Zuko will meat Katara's family in this chapter, and that's also why it took me so long. It's a difficult situation to write, and I think it could be done better than what I wrote. It was especially difficult, since the scene is from Zuko's point of view, and not having Sokka's, Hakoda's, or Kya's made it a little harder for me. But we already had Katara's last chapter, so there'll be Zuko's now. _

_I hope you'll like the chapter. Let me know what you think!:)_

_It starts directly after the last one ended. Katara and Zuko are just driving away from the Volcano Club. _

_I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender. _

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, once they were both seated in his car.

Katara hadn't seemed very upset for the rest of the lunch and had been very pleasant when they had said goodbye to his family, but Zuko thought she might be not so well after all.

After having been treated so awfully by the staff, Zuko simply couldn't imagine her to be well.

"Oh, well, yeah. Of course," she said absentmindedly, looking out of the window.

He glanced at her for a few seconds, before he sighed and started the motor, driving around the roundabout and down the driveway, palm trees growing on both sides.

"I'm sorry that I brought you there," he said, not knowing what else he could do. He had never experienced anything like this, and although he was angry on Katara's behalf, he did feel uncomfortable about this.

"It's not your fault," she said with an empty voice.

"But I should have thought about it. And done something!" he growled as an afterthought, before he quickly glanced at her. She gave him a questioning look. "I-I mean..." He faltered. "You're not... Well, we're not really together, but we're closer than my father is to you, and he was the one who defended you, and it should have been me," he murmured apologetically. "I'm sorry."

She heaved a heavy sigh. "It's okay. I know you wanted to do something first, but your father stopped you. And honestly, I'm sure that even if you had pressed the issue, your father would have still told you not to do anything. He showed himself as an open and tolerant person today. That video has probably already gone viral, and it will make him look good in front of my people or the lower class. It was an opportunity for him."

He tensed, his hands clamped around the steering wheel. What she said was probably true, but it wasn't good for her to think like this about his father. "Maybe. But I don't think it was his only reason for doing what he did."

Katara sighed. "I hope so. I mean he obviously wants people to think he is a tolerant person, but that doesn't mean he really is."

"He is," Zuko said, sounding more convinced than he felt.

When Katara went quiet again, Zuko didn't know what to do or if to say something. This issue was probably very important for Katara, but it was too foreign to Zuko. He didn't just want to let it be, he wanted to understand better and for her to tell him how she felt about it all, but he was unsure of how to ask.

In the end, he told himself she wouldn't have said anything to him anyway. And so he didn't ask.

oOo

Katara and Zuko didn't meet again before Friday, the dinner at Katara's parents. Zuko had felt like it was his fault for not being there for her enough on Wednesday, and he kept thinking about how stupid he behaved. She was probably wondering if he thought less of her because of her skin colour, too. The only problem was that he didn't know how to address this problem, how to make her talk to him. He couldn't even begin to understand how Katara felt, after all.

But to his relief, she called him on Thursday to talk about what he should do, not do, know and say in front of her parents on Friday. He was glad she had done this, because now he didn't feel quite as panicked as before.

Zuko had bought hamburgers for Jet again to apologise, and Jet had started to treat him normally again. He had immediately knocked on his door, showing him a video of his father defending Katara. It already had 280,000 clicks, and the number was increasing. Zuko was sure that his father was very pleased with this outcome. Although the camera zoomed in on Ozai's face, his whole family was shown, too. He could see Katara's shocked and uncomfortable face, his mother's and Azula's identical hard look at Kazan (the owner of the Volcano Club), and himself, scowling and tugging Katara protectively to his side. They really looked like a couple in the video.

The comments were... bipolar. Most people wrote about how great Ozai had behaved, how surprised they were, but also how happy. Lots of them said they hadn't even considered voting for him, but now they totally did. He had gained lots of supporters.

Others were saying that they didn't take this seriously as it was surely out of context, and they didn't believe Ozai would actually defend a Southerner.

Very few people commented about him or Katara directly, which he was glad for. A few people commented on how they couldn't believe Zuko was with a poor Southerner, some insulted Katara as a gold digger. But a few people also wrote they thought it sweet.

He wondered how Katara got along with it, and if people were talking to her about the video. Azula called him and told him to be prepared for an onslaught of interview offers from reporters. After this video everyone and their mum would want to know about Zuko and Katara.

He didn't like it. The few weeks they had had, spent in solitude, just getting to know each other had been so comfortable. Now the whole country would be involved.

Zuko wore simple clothes for meeting Katara's parents. Blue jeans and a black button down shirt. He hadn't styled his hair a lot, per Katara's request, so most of it was hanging in his face, just brushing on his eyebrows. He had bought a bouquet of tulips, the favourite flowers of Katara's mum, and a bottle of Octopus Shark, the favourite ice wine of Katara's father. For Sokka, he had brought a pack of seal jerky, although Katara had told him he didn't have to bring something for Sokka, as he already knew him. Katara hadn't known what he could gift her grandmother at first, but in the end, she had told him to buy her the album of an opera singer. And for Katara, he had brought chocolate mochis, not that she knew, it was simply a backup plan, if everyone would ask him why he had brought things for them, but nothing for Katara. And when he had seen them, he had thought of her, and thought she'd like them.

So, packed with gifts, in way more casual clothes than usual, he stood in front of an apartment house, in the outskirts of town. It was a developing area, lots of new houses, but also some building sites. Small trees lined the street, and everything looked clean and new.

Zuko pressed the bell for 'Qinu'. He waited not even two seconds, until he heard a woman's voice.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Er, Zuko here." He cringed, not able to face palm, because of all the things he was holding in his hands.

"Come in! Fourth storey!"

The door buzzed, and Zuko pushed it open, slowly climbing the steps. There wasn't even a lift. Not that Zuko needed one, as he was quite sportive, and on top of that wasn't eighty years old.

He immediately knew which door he had to go to as it was standing wide open, light flowing out to the hallway and four people with brown hair and blue eyes trying to stand in the doorway.

Katara squished past her parents and brother, approaching him with a tentative smile. He was glad her family didn't see her face, because it certainly didn't look like that of a happy girlfriend. Oh crap, he knew she was angry at him!

His eyes darted nervously to her family, before they settled on her, as she stopped in front of him.

"Hi," said Katara, her eyes wide and her smile not reaching them.

"Hi," he responded awkwardly.

"Can I take something off you?" she asked, eyeing his luggage.

"Oh no! I'm fine, but thanks." Before his gaze could return to her parents, Katara grabbed his arm and pulled him along with her back in their direction.

"Mum. Dad. This is Zuko, my boyfriend," she introduced them. "Zuko, these are my parents. Kya and Hakoda."

Without asking, Katara snatched the bouquet from his arm, which he was grateful for, because his right hand hadn't been free to shake the lower arms of her parents.

"Hello, I'm very pleased to meet you," Zuko said, first bowing in greeting, and then waiting for the Southerners to offer their lower arms.

Kya extended her arm first. Zuko firmly grabbed it underneath her elbow, just like Katara had told him to do. She inclined her head, and he did the same.

Her face was friendly and funny with a sharp chin. Katara looked a lot like her mother, but clearly also had something from her father. Sokka and she both looked like perfect mixes of their parents' genes.

"The pleasure is ours," Kya said, raising her chin, before she suddenly started laughing. "Oh spirits, Katara! I'm so sorry I just can't do this!" Fanning herself some air, she turned around to move deeper into the flat, bending at her waist, still chuckling.

Zuko started to panic. Had he done something wrong? Or said a wrong thing?

Hakoda sighed, before grasping Zuko's arm as well. "Welcome to our home," he said, his voice holding no friendly emotions, but Zuko was thirty percent certain that not all of it was the wish of breaking his bones. He moved to the side, letting Zuko in.

Sokka tapped him on the shoulder twice in order to greet him, only when his father cleared his throat, did the younger man grasp his lower arm.

Zuko could still hear Kya laugh.

"Don't worry. She always makes fun of stilted talk or traditions," Katara said, closing the door. "She just finds it funny that she got to say 'It is our pleasure'," she drawled.

Zuko stiffened. "Oh. Should I have said something else?"

Sokka shook his head. "Nah. She probably already likes you anyway."

Hakoda snorted, and Zuko felt suddenly very bad.

As soon as Katara closed the door, he looked around, searching for a place to put his shoes. "Er, where can I put my shoes?" he asked, because even if it had been obvious, he wouldn't start acting as if he knew this flat.

Katara's father eyed him critically, before glancing at his children and leaving the hallway.

Sokka and Katara looked at each other, before she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You can leave them on. We don't have any rules about this," she said, shoving Sokka forward.

Zuko's head snapped towards her, his eyes wide. "B-but… I just came from outside… and your floor…" His skin prickled at the thought of stepping any further into this flat with his shoes on.

"Relax. The neighbourhood is clean, and the only one getting a heart attack from dirt anywhere here is you." Katara padded his back amicably, obviously not knowing what this was doing to him!

He'd leave the dirt of the streets on their floor. Please don't let them have a carpet!

As he looked down at her, he could see that she was also still wearing sneakers. He grimaced. "Kata…" he started.

She smacked him slightly on his arm. "Shhh! I know you don't like it, but you _won't_ make my parents feel like they should clean more!"

His eyes widened slightly, panicked. In his horror of thinking about walking over a floor with his shoes still on, he had completely forgotten about what her parents would think!

Katara sighed. "Look. Everyone walks around here with their shoes still on. So the floor is dirty. In that case, wouldn't you prefer to leave your shoes on?" she asked slowly, as if she was talking to a child.

He wrinkled his nose, before nodding, trying not to be too obvious in his examination of the floor. He didn't want to make Katara angry, and he really wanted her parents to like him, but this was something he couldn't help himself with.

Taking a deep breath, – it actually smelled quite nicely in the flat, flowers, laundry and food – he followed Katara down the hallway, entering a small, but comfortable living room. He noted that it was certainly big enough, everyone could move freely and there were sitting options for more than six people. But still, the room was smaller than his own living room, which was only for two people. He frowned. How come Katara had never actually grumbled about this? She was normally so quick to ridicule everything too large, too expensive, or too luxurious.

The room was held in relatively neutral colours. The wooden floor had a light hazelnut colour, and the walls were left white, with one exception, which was painted in beige. Bookshelves full of CDs and DVDs covered one wall, a large grey sofa another one. Next to the TV, right in front of a window, was a cream coloured chaise longue with pink cushions. Two armchairs, one in brown, and one in teal stood at the other side of the sofa.

Zuko glanced around, finding the room didn't look so much like the living room of a family, but then again, the children were adult and didn't live here anymore. Besides, the living room at his parents' home had never looked as if a family with children was living there. The living room of Katara's parents looked as if adult, well educated people who liked to have visitors were living here.

Sokka had slumped down in an armchair, looking at him, as he came through the door.

Katara pulled him to the other side of the room, closer to the books. "I want you to meet my grandmother," she said with a very enthusiastic voice. He couldn't tell if her enthusiasm was fake or honest, but he was pretty sure it had been fake, after looking at the woman sitting on the chaise longue with a book.

Her stern face looked as if she couldn't even be shocked by fireworks exploding right next to her. Although she had a typical soft looking grandma body with slack flesh, her posture was straight and rigid, making her look like a ballet teacher, which was enhanced through the low knot she had twisted her grey hair in.

The woman wore old fashioned clothes in sky blue and white, the colour of the Southern Province.

Zuko would have known it would be hard to make this woman like him, to make her even accept him, but when he realised to his horror that he had already seen her once, he knew it would actually be impossible.

Katara's grandmother was the woman whose shopping bag he had sliced two days ago in the underground.

He couldn't do anything against his eyes widening and his mouth hanging slightly open in shock.

"Grangran, this is Zuko. Zuko, this is my grandmother Kanna," Katara introduced them, her voice still sounding cheerful.

The woman raised an eyebrow, before she snorted. "Will you eat what I cooked? Or will you throw it on the floor?"

Katara gasped, as Zuko cringed. He quickly took a step towards the old lady and bowed deeper than was necessary this time. "I am truly sorry about what happened the other day. If I had had any more time, I would have helped you, or even bought it all for you again."

Katara's grandmother somehow managed to look down her nose at him, although she was still sitting, and Zuko knew that even if she would stand, he would still tower over her.

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah. You know each other?" Sokka interjected.

Their grandmother's gaze never left Zuko. "Would you like to tell them?" Her voice sounded dry and old like sandpaper.

He blushed furiously, biting down on his lower lip. "Erm…"

Shit, how could he tell them? He remembered he had shouted at Jet through his phone. He hadn't used any nice language, and the lady already hated him, that was clear! He had said the f-word several times, probably a lot of other bad words, then snarled and then ripped her paper bag open! She would tell Katara to run away from him, as fast as possible. And then she would tell Katara's parents, making them disapprove, and Katara wouldn't be able to bear it, and of course she would choose her family, not him!

He stood stiff as a board while these thoughts were coursing through him.

"Well…," he tried again, but still, it was all in vain.

The old woman sent him an odd look. "Your boyfriend, Katara, should really wash his mouth. I heard some filthy language coming out of there," she said in a grated, monotone voice, but somehow making it full of disapproval.

Katara raised an eyebrow at him, a gesture that made her even look a little like her grandmother. "How did you hear him swear?"

Zuko swallowed, knowing he started sweating from nervousness.

"I met him Wednesday. I was just getting back here from doing some shopping, you know. I had bought everything I needed for five flavour soup. The boy," she nodded at Zuko, "was in the same underground train as me, insulting someone at the other end of a phone call, using extremely crude language." It was beyond Zuko to understand how she made it clear with her voice that she could absolutely not stand him and that he would never be good enough for Katara, when there was really only a tint of disapproval in her voice.

"I-I was talking to Jet," he murmured, casting Katara a quick glance.

"Oh!" Sokka laughed. "Well, it's understandable then."

His grandmother shot him_ a look_. He shut up.

"Grangran, if that's all…" Katara said cautiously.

The woman huffed. "All? Tss, while throwing a little temper tantrum he sliced through my shopping bags, and all the food I'd bought fell to the floor."

Katara gasped again. "What?"

Zuko pressed his lips together in a firm line, staring at the ground.

"He first apologised and wanted to help, but then the train stopped, and he said he had to leave," the ballet teacher ended.

Sokka still kept his mouth shut. For a few moments, the sound of Katara's parents bustling on in the kitchen was the only sound to be heard.

Taking a deep breath, Zuko looked back up into the eyes of the old woman. She was terrifying, but he had to fix this. Damn, he made Katara like him enough to play his fake girlfriend and repeatedly kiss him, and that girl had been the person who had loathed him the most in his entire life, he was sure of it!

"As I said, I truly am sorry about what happened then. I was being very late, and I was stressed. I let that get the better of me, and I thought that nothing was more important than being punctual for my meeting. But I should have helped you more. It certainly hadn't happened intentionally." He meant everything he said, and despite not being good at lying, Zuko knew he was good at being honest. Katara's grandmother should be able to see that!

He took some comfort in the fact that Katara's hand was still lying on his arm, even rubbing slightly. Was she doing this consciously?

Her grandmother watched him for a few seconds with a stoic look which didn't even change when she said "Call me Grangran."

oOo

In the beginning, Zuko felt a little attacked by these people. It felt similar to how meeting Katara's friends had been. Kya and Sokka just said and asked everything that came to their minds.

"I must say it was quite the surprise I got when Katara told me you are the one she's together with! After all, she complained so much about you in high school! It was so bad that I didn't even think she had a crush on you," Kya chuckled.

"At least this way I won't have to assist her in playing pranks at Zuko anymore," Sokka grumbled. "Getting your pocket money really wasn't worth stealing his underwear! So gross!" He narrowed his eyes at his sister, before faking a gag motion.

Zuko's eyes widened in horror, as he turned to Katara. "So that _was_ you!"

After throwing a glare in Sokka's direction, she smiled at him sheepishly. "That was... er..."

"Well, she hopefully won't need to result to such drastic measures to get him undressed in the future!" Kya grinned devilishly at the pretending couple.

Blood rushed into Zuko's cheeks, and he stared intently at his plate, while Katara sputtered, trying to find some words.

"Kya!" Hakoda sounded like he was scolding a child. "Not at dinner, not while I'm here!" He looked like he was hurting.

Kya rolled her eyes.

Katara put her head in her hands, groaning. "Mum! Dad! Just stop!"

"Well, I certainly won't help with any of this in the future," Sokka said decidedly, and Katara groaned, while Zuko kept staring at his plate, too mortified to even attempt to react to this somehow.

Oh gods. It just became worse.

The family found themselves bickering with each other, most of the times over something completely irrelevant. However, somehow the attention of the room always made its way back to Zuko.

"Of course I helped preparing dinner!" Sokka exclaimed.

"If you call standing next to us and commenting everything we do 'help', then yeah, sure," Hakoda replied dryly.

"I asked you to cut the aubergines, because I had to go to the bathroom!" Katara shouted.

Sokka frowned. "Yeah, and I did!"

Katara snorted. "No, you did not! When I came back, it was still just one aubergine."

"Then that must have been another one! I cut one, seriously!"

Kya rolled her eyes. "It's no use anymore. He's already left home, and he'll never learn how to help in the kitchen."

"Oh, the poor girls out there. I really hope you'll at least change then," Katara told Sokka, who blushed furiously in a dark red tone, before pointing with his chopsticks at Zuko.

"Yeah, so you're telling me Zuko is a perfect household help?! He probably grew up with servants and didn't have to lift a finger!" he snarled.

Zuko tensed again, glancing at Katara from the corner of his eyes, before slowly looking at the rest of the family.

Katara grinned. "Actually, he is a big help in the kitchen, but he also cooks and bakes by himself. If you want a girl my age to like fall for you one day, you should try it out."

Sokka scowled. "And be so whipped like him?" He nodded at Zuko.

Before Zuko could repeat to this slight stab to his manliness, Hakoda spoke up. "I help your mother in the kitchen. DOes that make me whipped, too?" he asked with a slightly hard tone.

Sokka's eyes widened. "No, no, no! No, Dad. Not you. You're super manly."

"You bake, Zuko?" Kya asked him then, obviously trying to change the topic.

He looked up from his soup, which was very good, but before he could answer her, Katara opened her mouth. "Yes, he does! Just last Sunday, we baked..."

"Katara!" Kya interrupted her. "Would you let your boyfriend speak for himself?"

Zuko flushed again. Oh man. It's not like he couldn't talk for himself, but he just preferred letting Katara do it around people she knew better than he did. It was her family. He was too afraid of saying or doing something stupid. Katara knew better how to manage these things. But now, he really would have to say something.

He cleared his throat. "Er, yes, I bake."

Silence.

"You like baking?" Kya probed.

"Yes."

Clitter.

"Do you bake for special occasions?"

"Yes."

Tick.

Kya's eyes narrowed. "I suppose you're just a silent person, and not trying to be impolite, right?"

Zuko's eyes widened in panic. "What? NO! I-I mean I'm not trying to be impolite. I don't want to be impolite."

Katara rolled her eyes. "If you want Zuko to talk much, Mum, then you got to ask him something about kung fu, swords, or architecture of long gone civilisations."

His head snapped back to her. "If that bored you so much, you could have simply said something!"

She grimaced at him, before gently laying a hand on his arm. "It didn't bore me. It was rather endearing, since there aren't many things you're passionate about."

Endearing? Him? What? No. Zuko was not endearing. He was far from endearing. He was... silent and stoic. Awkward and asocial. Aggressive and rash. But definitely not endearing!

"Katara, I'm not endearing," he murmured, as he looked over at her.

She was still grinning at him. "Of course not, just as endearing as a little turtle. Or duck."

"Stop it!" he growled quietly, blushing worse as he felt the eyes of everyone at the table on him. He suspected Katara to enjoy this immensely.

"Okay," she said, but ruffled his hair.

He groaned, as he tried to undo what she had done to his hair, athough it probably didn't even matter. His hair had been a shaggy mess when he had arrived, and it couldn't look worse. He didn't get why Katara liked his hair like that, but he understood why she hadn't liked it combed back. He glanced at her, how she was giggling, a pink coclour on her cheeks, her eyes sparkling, as she looked shortly at him. He felt his breath catch, staring for a moment, before he remembered his surroundsings.

Clearing his throat, he turned away, glancing at Katara's family.

Sokka glared at him, before grimacing, as if he were disgusted.

Kya grinned knowingly, as if this had been a display of affection, and not two people accepting and tolerating each other, who were simply pretending to be together.

Although... This wasn't right. He didn't just accept and tolerate her. He liked Katara.

All in all, Zuko felt the most comfortable with Kya, because she didn't seem to take most things seriously. Sometimes she downright laughed at something he said, saying he sounded hilarious, like some warrior from the last century. Katara gigged then, while Hakoda snorted.

Sokka was okay, too, but Kya had something which made him feel more at ease. With Sokka, Zuko was still on his guard, never knowing how to interpret the words of the other boy.

Hakoda held himself stoically, just like Katara had told him he would. He wasn't very enthusiastic about meeting another boyfriend of Katara's. Apparently, he had always hoped it would be the last. It would take him a while to warm up to Zuko, and then he would wish he would be the last, too. But Zuko could never be that. The thought left something burning in his stomach.

But Zuko had the most respect and the most fear for GranGran. He could see that she was adored by everyone else in the family, and he instinctively knew that what she said was law. If she wouldn't approve of him, he would lose Katara. But she had already told him to call her GranGran, right?

They all thanked Zuko for the gifts, Hakoda did so with narrowed eyes. He didn't seem to be ecstatic about a boyfriend for his daughter who gifted him alcohol. But he couldn't say anything, since both Zuko and Katara were adults. Besides, even Zuko saw that his choice of ice wine impressed Hakoda. That was all Katara's doing. She had told him there was one ice wine Hakoda always had at home and liked to drink, but there was one special bottle hidden in his wardrobe for special opportunities or emergencies. That was the Octopus Shark.

After dinner, they were all gathering in the living room, arguing about which board game to play. Zuko had wished to finally be able to go home. And maybe drive Katara home first and get some of her kisses…

But no. They were playing activity. Zuko was the worst at this game. At anything with explaining and quickly thinking about something, actually. He could be rash and reckless, but not spontaneous.

It was Sokka's idea to play men against women.

He never knew what Sokka wanted to explain, sometimes Zuko guessed right what Hakoda meant, but he himself couldn't explain anything the right way. Worse was the mime. The only good thing that Zuko was doing was drawing. Hakoda hummed approvingly, and Katara exclaimed that she hadn't known he could draw. Sokka shushed her for intruding on the men's team.

The women won in a rout.

After that, Katara announced that she would like to leave now, as she was incredibly tired and had to get up early in the morning. Zuko was disappointed at hearing that. That meant there would be no kisses later.

When they had said goodbye to everyone, and Hakoda had given him that "You-better-drive-my-daughter-home-without-touching-her"-look, Katara took his hand to lead him away.

Sokka hurried to catch up to them, as Zuko had to drive him home again.

This time, fortunately, Sokka stayed silent for most of the time, only talking to Katara. He also smelled better this time and was clean. Zuko hurried to get to Sokka's flat, wanting to be alone with Katara.

When Zuko finally stopped in front of the gate to the student dormitories on campus, Katara turned around to him, tucking her hair behind her ear. "So, that went rather well, didn't it?"

Zuko grimaced. "You think so? Your grandma and dad hate me!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. They don't hate you. Grangran is just being Grangran. She's always rather stoic. And Dad is just being a dad. He wouldn't like any boyfriend I would have from the beginning. Although Dad liked Aang just fine, he completely changed his demeanour towards him after we got together," she explained, reaching out to squeeze his knee. "My mum likes you! And I'm pretty sure, Sokka likes you, too."

He took a deep breath. "I just… If they wouldn't approve, I would understand if you would want to end…"

"No," she interrupted him firmly. "I'm in this. And if I would end things with you, because they don't approve, it would actually make them suspicious. I'm more the kind of girl who would stay with a boyfriend her family doesn't approve of only to prove the point that they're not my boss."

His lips twitched in amusement. Yes, that was right. That was just the way Katara was. Without thinking about it, his hand moved onto hers, which was still on his knee. "True. But… Things will get difficult for you. Now that everyone knows about us…"

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, the video. I know. Things might become difficult. But that doesn't mean they'll be bad."

He frowned. "I don't know. There are people disapproving of this. I don't want anyone to look strangely at you, or say anything offending." He quickly turned more towards her, squeezing her hand again. "Please tell me, if someone does. Or did."

A grin slowly spread on her face. "Well, there's Meng from university. She looked very strangely at me since yesterday, and today she asked me if I had already moved on from Aang." She sighed. "She was so into Aang all the time, it was very obvious, and she could never stand me. I think she considers this her chance. I'm actually surprised she hadn't acted earlier on her feelings." She shrugged, her long hair falling over her jeans clad shoulder. "But apart from that, I didn't notice anything in particular."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Good. That meant until now, no one had offended Katara because of her connection to him.

"Er…" he started, not knowing how to address this topic. "There's something else I wanted to ask you…"

She yawned right into his face. "Gan this waih? I'm vewy tire."

He closed his mouth, pressing his lips together. He nodded. "Sure. Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She nodded slowly. "Alright. See you tomorrow then. You'll pick me up?"

He nodded. "At half past five pm. It'll take us an hour to get there."

"Good. I hope the dress I bought will be okay," she said, frowning.

He swallowed. "I'm sure you'll look beautiful."

The smile she sent him made his heart beat faster. When they were sitting in the dark like this, her teeth seemed to gleam even whiter in her brown face. It was stunning.

"Thank you. And thanks for tonight. For… well, behaving and making an effort. I appreciate it." She suddenly leaned towards him, and Zuko felt relief flood through him at the thought that she still seemed to want to kiss him. Maybe she wasn't that mad about Wednesday as he had thought.

He quickly met her lips with his, causing her to make a surprised noise. Wait… Why was she surprised? She was the one who had leaned in!

"What's wrong?" he asked, retreating and frowning at her.

Pressing her lips together and avoiding his gaze, she almost looked shy. "Nothing. You just took me by surprise, is all. Er, I had planned to kiss you on the cheek, so…"

Zuko flushed. Oh no. Really? Why was this his life?

"Oh. Sorry," he murmured.

Urgh, she had only wanted to kiss his cheek and he had taken her mouth, idiot!

"It's okay," she said, and in the next moment her lips were on his.

He instinctively closed his eyes and leaned in her direction, showing her that he wanted the kiss. He cocked his head to the side to gain better access, brushing his lips against hers. A warm shiver ran down his spine and he lifted a hand to gather her cheek, caressing her skin. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled her scent and felt himself slightly dizzy, as arousal rose deep inside of him. But before he could deepen the kiss, she had already leaned back. He was still holding her cheek, not wanting to let go completely of her.

"Good night," she murmured, not looking him in the eye, as she got out of his car.

His mouth opened to respond, but the door already shut.

He watched her walking away, through the gate, her long hair almost covering all of her back, her hips swaying to the rhythm of her fast steps.

What. The. Hell. Was. That?

Blinking, Zuko turned around, staring at the steering wheel. Why hadn't he been able to reply to her? Why had he felt so… empty when she had drawn back? He had felt disappointed, too, but it had been worse. He had a very odd sensation in his stomach, which told him he should be more careful with Katara. He couldn't care too much for her. Wanting to kiss and touch her was one thing, longing for her presence and closeness another.

He leaned back against the rest, closing his eyes as he thought about his fake girlfriend. Her laughter, her smile, the teasing glint in her eyes, how comfortable he was when she was lying in his arms…

Groaning, he ran a hand down his face. This had to stop before it could develop any further. There was no way she could ever feel in a similar way about him, and besides, his father wouldn't want him to actually want to be with Katara. Maybe he was just mixing up his feelings. He had never kissed a girl he hadn't fallen for so often, and that's why he was suddenly confused. Zuko just liked Katara like a friend. And he probably just liked kissing her, because she was a girl and had nice lips. That was all. Yeah, that sounded like a logical reason.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!:D Let me know what you think! _

_Aha! So that's why I needed Zuko to be impolite in front of an old lady two chapters before! The slicing of the shopping bag was this AU's version of Zuko manhandling Grangran. I just wanted him to have a bad start with her in here, too, as it is in canon. _

_So, yeah... Katara's family... This wasn't easy. I just had no ideas! No ideas at all! I didn't know what and about what to write, and I wanted to post this chapter three days ago, but then I got more ideas, and added some things to this chapter... I really think it is better now, and I hope you liked it.:)  
_

_Katara said there are few things Zuko is passionate about, and I just wanted to make it clear again that I don't forget that Zuko is a passionate person. But really just about a few things. There is firebending, sword wielding, the Fire Nation, capturing Aang, protecting the weak, fighting Ozai, protecting the people he cares about. Yeah... and I think that's it. I mean, again, he is the guy who said he did nothing for fun, nothing in his free time! He is most of the time like simmering embers, but when it's about something that's important to him, Zuko transforms into a wildfire. I just think that Katara is passionate about way more things than Zuko, as she also clearly shows enthusiasm about way more things, so from her point of view he seems like not a very passionate person. _

_About Zuko liking architecture... I have that from the episode The Sun Warriors, when he's so fascinated that the booby traps still work and remarks that the temples were probably the model for those of the Fire Sages. Otherwise, I never would have thought or guessed that Zuko could be interested in history or architecture at all, but I kind of like the thought. Architecture is something creative after all. I also already hinted at this, because I let him read a magazine about architecture in a previous chapter. _

**_Answers to reviews:_**

_To _uchihaNaruto247: _Thanks for reviewing:)_ _It's how I like to think of Azula if she had had the chance to be normal. Since Ursa is there, I think it helped Azula a lot, plus, she spent her last years of school only with Zuko, without her parents, and had to watch Zuko being bullied. She's not dumb, she suspected Ozai had done something to Zuko, and therefore sent him away. And Azula is so fierce, she also feels emotions very intensely, so I can't imagine her not trying to protect Zuko, if she allowed herself to show her love for him. Yeah, that was difficult to handle. I didn't want to exaggerate with the racism, but at the same time there had to be some. And how Katara reacted... I think she mostly didn't react at all, because of the paralysing anger and shock. Later, you somehow always know better how you could have handled such situations. You suddenly know what you could have said. But yeah, Katara seemed quite thick-skinned, and the way she thanked Ozai seemed very elegant to me. Oh, this is all the acting job of Ozai's life!  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This: _Thank you!:)_

_To _fan101_: Thank you! I will definitely keep writing, even though I don't seem to be able to do so regularly. But I still have so many ideas and plot twists for this story in mind, and I really want to write it down. The updates are slow, but they will keep coming. Apart from haters, there are one group of people on this site that I hate very much: authors who just stop writing and never finish their story. I get that sometimes life intervenes and all that, but in this case, some people write a short note into a new chapter, and then that's okay. But simply leaving a story out there to rot is cruel to me. Thanks, yeah, I didn't think it would seem very logical to stick to the way teenagers are... Thanks for your review!:) _

_To _Smckoy929: _Yeah, apart from Ozai everyone even meant it... :) As you see, Katara's food was fine. They already had one ranting Kasaishi, I'm pretty sure they didn't want to have the police in their club, or an indictment from the Kasaishis. Ozai might show a new side of his to his old friends, but they still fear him. They do what he asks and wants. Thanks for reviewing!  
_


	23. Chapter 22

_Hey everyone! My exams are over, and I've got holidays now! Yayyy! Not that I'll go anywhere else, but at least the exams aren't still on my mind. _

_I am very sorry this took so long, but you'll get a long chapter, at least. I actually always wanted to have chapters with 5.000 words for this story, but they are getting longer and longer. So, I think this chapter is only long, if you think about all the other chapters, but not compared to the last one. I just really wanted to have this chapter end where it does..._

_We'll have the gala now! **Warning**: There will be a bad word about girls in this chapter. And some serious snogging. _

_I hope you'll enjoy it! _

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

A stranger stared back at Katara as she looked at herself in the mirror. The stranger had her face, her hair, her arms, and her body. She was beautiful. She looked like a princess.

Katara didn't feel beautiful or anyhow like a princess. Her emotions seemed more similar to that of a lamb which was about to enter the wolves' cave. Her dress and make up were just the wrapping of the present.

After looking herself over again and steeling her nerves, she checked her purse again for everything she needed: key, wallet, mobile phone, tissues, lipstick, hair ties, and clips. There could always happen something to her hair. Or she would get annoyed with it and simply want to tuck it back.

Zuko was already ringing her bell for the third time. She was late, and had not ready yet when he had arrived, and she hadn't answered him, instead had kept running around like a headless chicken, putting her shoes on, checking her hair, searching for her key. He was surely very angry now.

When she finally opened the door, he had a scowl on his face, his hand resting on the bell.

"Sorry," she breathed. "I couldn't find my keys."

His scowl intensified. "And you couldn't let me know? Or let me in?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Are you ready yet?" he asked, almost haughtily, as if she was the worst person on Earth for not being ready on time.

She nodded, trying not to snarl at him.

His face softened immediately, before his eyes trailed down her frame. Somehow, she felt like she was standing in the midday sun.

"The dress is good," he said, before stepping away, making it clear that he wanted to leave.

She stepped out of her flat, closed the door and watched him turn around and descend the stairs. She grimaced at his back, sticking her tongue out at him. Seriously? 'The dress is good'?. She didn't get anything more for that? Urgh. Idiot.

Although Zuko was mostly dressed rather formally, this was the first time she saw him wearing a suit. The jacket was longer than she was used to seeing it from the businessmen in town, so she guessed it was something special for evening wear. He also wore a bowtie and not a neck tie. The suit fitted him perfectly, and Katara got the impression that it had probably been tailored just for him. She sighed. This was really not her world. Her dress, having been two thousand five hundred yuans, was probably just as expensive as his jacket. Or shoes.

2.500 yuans were a lot of money for Katara. Zuko had just given her six times as much to buy some clothes for meeting with his family and coming to the gala tonight, on top of her monthly salary. No matter how much time she would spend with Zuko, she would never get used to this.

Zuko's car parked on the parking place for visitors to the students of the dormitory. He had paid five yuans to be able to park there for half an hour, just to go up to her flat, ring the bell, and bring her back down to his car. She would have never paid for this, just hoping that five minutes were so little time that no inspector would be able to check if there was a ticket on her front windscreen. But Katara didn't have a car, so she didn't have to think about things like that.

Zuko opened the door to the passenger seat for her.

He could be a jerk, but at least he was a polite jerk. Or was trying to be. Politeness was very important to Zuko, and the fact that he was trying to be polite held the same value to him as actually being polite. It had taken Katara a while to figure that out, and it would even take longer to accept this. Maybe she never would. After all, this way, in his eyes he never did anything wrong.

She smiled at him, and one corner of his mouth lifted in a short, soft smile, as he walked around his BMW to get on the driver's seat.

Katara was cautious with her dress, when she sat down. The fabric was so soft and seemed so expensive, although the sales woman said it wasn't. The dress was just expensive, because of the way it had been sewn. The fabric was just 20 % silk with 80 % of different fabrics that had chemical sounding names. If Katara would sweat this evening, the dress would smell forever.

It had two parts. A dark purple underdress with a flowing skirt and a blue wrap dress without any sleeves or neck holders that had a white trim along her heart shaped décolleté. It ended just under her knees so that the purple underdress was seen, too. It had typical colours of the Southern and Northern Provinces, even the style looked a little like the old one from there, although more modern. The dress was perfect for Katara's purpose. Presenting herself as part of this society, part of the Kasaishi family, but heavily accentuating her origin. Half of her hair was even braided as was tradition for her people to do. Katara had maybe a little exaggerated with her hair, but she hadn't had the opportunity to dress up like this since prom, and she really had relished in it. She had watched ten YouTube videos about hair styles, and had sat there for almost an hour, fixing her hair. She had thought about asking Zuko for money for a hair stylist and make-up artist, since she had feared she would look silly doing it by herself, but in the end she had refused to do so. She liked doing things by herself, and she didn't want to spend any more money for useless things.

"Can you tell me a bit more about this gala?" asked Katara.

Zuko glanced at her, as he drove through the gate of the campus. "Yeah, sure. It is held by PaiLaBluSp. It's where we donate most of our money. Father has been fighting for becoming the most generous donator of PaiLaBluSp for years. This year, he donated twice as much as last year, and everyone is pretty sure that Father will win the award. PaiLaBluSp cares for building hospitals, they offer studentships to young people who want to become a doctor, but don't have the necessary means to do so. They send doctors to where they are needed, they care for orphans, and work with our military. They try to find jobs for former soldiers and even look into military crimes. They have several daughter companies like HeiBai, or Pohuai. But you don't have to know much about it for tonight. We're just going to stand at the entrance for a few photos, then mingle with the crowd, and wait until they announce that we can have dinner. The speeches are torture, and it is always lasting way too long." He sighed, clearly sounding annoyed. "What they do is good, but this event is simply for impressing the rich. It's just a lot of advertisement, and embellished speeches."

Katara frowned. There were people fighting over an award for the most generous donator? How could this be considered generous, when everyone only cared about the award?

"That sounds like a whole bunch of hypocritical crap," she said in a dry tone.

"Yep. It's been ten years since I last went to a charity event by PaiLaBluSp, but last year, I went to a gala from JINORA, which was pretty boring. Many people holding speeches, and some people reading… In the end, there was music," he said it, as if music had made everything worse.

"Ten years? Why?" Katara was curious.

There were a few beats of silence, and she looked over at him to find out why he was so quiet, when he opened his mouth. "I was in Ba Sing Se and Fire Fountain City, so er… my family couldn't bring me. I had school and was trained at the Academy… I had stuff to do."

Katara didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know this had been a lie.

Zuko was hopeless. His voice became too casual, too much as if nothing about what he said mattered, it climbed one octave, and everything he said sounded like a question.

Katara narrowed her eyes. Why did he lie about something like this? It was a normal question, how could the answer be not normal enough for him to lie about it?

She wondered if she should press the issue. She really shouldn't, she knew that. But that was just unlike her.

"I don't believe you. You can't lie, Zuko. What really happened?" she asked, trying to sound soft and persuasive and not suspicious and accusing.

He pressed his teeth together, the muscles in his jaw fletching. "I don't want to talk about it."

Okay. Shit. Seriously? Was he just being dramatic or had there… really happened something that had kept him away from the capital? From his parents?

"Okay." She didn't want to start a fight, but she would definitely try to find out if there was more to this. "Will it come up tonight? At this gala, I mean."

He shook his head. "No. It doesn't have to do with galas."

She slowly breathed out. Hm. Didn't have to do with galas. So there had been something that had kept him from here. What had it been? And why was he here now?

oOo

Fifty minutes later, they arrived at the old temple in which the gala was held. It was practically a ruin, in the middle of the jungle, but there had been roads, bridges, tents, and halls built into it. None of the original temples had somehow been changed, but a few things had been added to accommodate for today's comfort.

Katara couldn't stop her mouth from hanging open, gaping at their surroundings. Zuko and she were walking along an old path, and he told her there used to be booby traps all over this place. In order to prepare for the event, dozens of workers had been injured, but fortunately, none had died. Katara gasped.

"Why didn't they stop after the first person got injured? You can't just let people work for you, knowing there is a high probability for them to get injured or killed!"

Zuko nodded. "The families of the workers were trying to start a lawsuit, but the working conditions were deemed as not more dangerous than those of building labourers on normal building sites."

Katara huffed. "And the money and influence of PaiLaBluSp had nothing to do with it?"

Zuko shook his head. "PaiLaBluSp didn't build this. But the companies which support it. It should have been a special gift for caring for our society for so long."

"Was Kasaishi Enterprises part of those companies?" Katara asked, her eyes narrowed at him.

He nodded, his lips pressed together to a white line.

When they rounded a corner, where several voices seemed to come from, Zuko offered Katara his arm. She took it, her other hand clasped around her purse, but two fingers of hers held up her dress so that it wouldn't get dusty from the ground.

A red carpet was laid out to the entrance door of a large building. It looked like an original temple of the Sun Warriors, but when Katara looked close enough, she could see it was simply made of cardboard and polystyrene. It was built onto the broken side of an original temple, making it look like it was whole.

"We're not allowed to really go into the temple, right?" Katara asked.

Zuko shrugged. "I don't know."

A large crowd had gathered in front of the temple, which was held away from the red carpet with a metal fence, while the reporters were taking pictures. Several people walked down the carpet in front of Zuko and Katara.

All of a sudden, Katara felt as if she would have to throw up. Her stomach revolted, she felt sick. She didn't want to go in there. She didn't want to walk down this carpet, being photographed by so many people, judged by so many people. This was clearly worse than the Volcano Club. This felt more like a real volcano, and she was thrown into a pool of lava.

"Oh shit," she murmured. She had clearly underestimated this evening. Underestimated Zuko's position in society, underestimated her job!

He squeezed her hand. "It will be okay," he murmured, almost soothingly.

It didn't make Katara's sudden stomach ache go away. With each step they took, it was just getting worse. The world seemed to swim around her, as if she was walking underwater, not being able to hear all the people well enough, her sight getting fuzzy, as she focused on taking one step in front of the other. As long as she didn't vomit. As long as she didn't faint. As long as she kept smiling.

Lightning flashed in front of Katara's eyes, making her feel panic for a moment, until she realised it was the flash of cameras.

Her smile didn't show her teeth, and she clearly clung to Zuko. He kept them standing and steady for five seconds, until he turned around, dragging her with him to the entrance of the temple. The reporters kept shouting questions.

The light disappeared, and Katara could breathe again.

Inside, it was a lot darker, but light found its way in from several large windows put high into the walls. A lot of small lights were lit all over the place, shining in gold, red, blue, green, and purple. High tables stood around the room, candles and flowers decorating them. A stage stood at the other end of the hall, with a large banner hung over it, saying:** PaiLaBluSp Charity Gala 2019**.

Men in suits and tuxedos, women in dresses and sparkling with jewellery stood in small groups around the room, talking lowly and holding onto glasses of champagne.

Zuko's grip on Katara's hand, which was still lying on his other arm, tightened, as he pulled her into a more empty corner. They didn't stop, but kept walking slowly. "I'll have to talk to some people now," he murmured. "It's mostly going to be dishonest small talk, and I will introduce you. Even though zoning out will seem tempting, please pay attention to what we're talking about."

She frowned in irritation. "I wouldn't just zone out! It's not like I can't…"

He squeezed her hand. "I wasn't criticising you. Simply the quality of the talks here," he drawled.

Katara giggled. "So you're even a snob around other snobs," she chuckled. Zuko would probably also find something to turn his nose up on, if her were to have tea with the Queen of England.

He rolled his eyes, and then suddenly tugged her towards the left. "Quick. Grab a flute of champagne!"

A waiter walked past them, and they snatched two glasses away.

Zuko took a deep breath. "Not everyone here is awful. We'll talk to a few nice people, too." He sounded as if he wanted to reassure her. But even if these people were considered nice by Zuko, would it mean they were also nice to her?

"What about your family?" Katara asked. "Won't we look for them?"

Zuko shook his head. "We'll meet them in the next hall, when dinner will be served, but we'll just mingle here."

"Kasaishi Zuko!" a man's voice was saying to their left.

Katara and Zuko turned around to face the man.

He was around sixty, a little shorter than Zuko, had a well-groomed, grey beard, and short grey hair, that was slicked back. His hair heavily reflected the light around, and his light brown eyes, which almost looked red, were sparkling with something Katara didn't like.

Zuko bowed in greeting to the man, his face a blank mask. "Ueda. It is good to see you."

"Likewise, Kasaishi. Although it's been so long, I instantly recognised you!" the man commented. "And it seems you remember me as well. How long has it been? Eight years?"

"Ten," Zuko corrected the man, his voice on the edge of being polite. "My father raised me to know business. A capable man like you shouldn't be forgotten."

Katara felt surprised. Hadn't she known Zuko as well as she did, she would have thought he was actually polite. But his face looked way too much as if it were made of stone. His smile was small and tense, and his voice sounded as if he was suppressing his anger.

She pressed herself stronger to his side, hoping it distracted him from whatever grudge he held against the man.

Ueda nodded. "Yes, that is quite good. I hope we will be able to form a partnership of the same quality that your father holds with me, as soon as you take over."

Zuko nodded stiffly.

And with one final nod, the man turned around, before shortly glancing Katara's way, and walked away. He hadn't even asked Zuko how he was, what he was doing, or if Katara was his date or girlfriend!

Katara glared at his retreating back.

Zuko let out a long, suffering sigh/groan. "Come on," he said, almost tiredly, as he walked Katara through the room.

They had several more conversations with people who seemed to be similar to Ueda. They were all about business, but they didn't introduce the women on their arms, and they also didn't ask anything about Katara. It became very hard to smile after a while, and she envied the other elegant women who somehow managed to remain perfectly still and smiling, as if they were not real.

However, their last conversation was very nice. They talked to a woman working as a lawyer for PaiLaBluSp, and Katara vibrated with excitement to get to ask her things about her job. The woman was accompanied by her husband and was visibly pregnant. Her name was Ming, and her husband's name was Chey.

But Ming wasn't only interesting, because of her job, but because she really seemed to have a personality. Besides, she was wearing a long, elegant, black jumpsuit, and not a dress. Katara eyed it enviously, as it looked very comfortable.

Katara was still smiling from this conversation, when she noticed her champagne was empty. She just wanted to ask Zuko if it would be okay or deemed as vulgar for her to drink more than one flute, when a tanned, male hand landed on Zuko's shoulder, almost making him jump like a cat.

"Zuko." A warm, deep voice said, sounding, as if the man was smiling. He looked to be in Hakoda's age, but with more grey hair. He wore a short beard around his mouth and covering his chin, his hair was just as short, and he looked way more tanned than any of the other Westerners Katara knew.

It was fairly surprising, but also relieving to see Zuko's mouth spread into a smile. He bowed deep in greeting, his eyes closed. "Sifu Piandao."

Piandao raised one eyebrow and grimaced slightly. "It's been ten years, Zuko. I'm sure you're already better than I am, so please don't call me Sifu anymore."

Zuko blinked, looking confused, before he nodded. "Yes… Sir."

Piandao rolled his eyes, before he looked back at Zuko, his face softening. "How are you? I didn't know you were back here!"

"I'm fine, thank you. I study law and economics at the university. It's very fascinating. I've been back since September."

Katara narrowed her eyes. He… sounded weird when he was talking about law and economics.

"How are you, Sir?" Zuko asked back.

Piandao nodded. "Oh, I cannot complain about anything. My company runs itself, and I sit in my country house all day, training with my swords, or teaching students." He shrugged, before he turned around to face Katara.

For a moment there, she actually felt shocked.

"Now, please forgive me, Miss." Piandao bowed Katara, who returned it. "I have noticed you all along, of course, there were just a few things I had to get out first. Now, I'm Ken Piandao, the first martial arts teacher Zuko ever had. Everything he knows about swords originates from our lessons."

Katara grinned. "He certainly didn't forget anything then. He loves to talk about swords for hours!" Of course, she exaggerated a little bit, but she also wanted to test if this man was really as nice as he seemed to be.

Piandao actually threw his head back and laughed.

Katara smiled, pleased with herself.

"You have to tell me your name!" the swords master practically pleaded.

"I am Katara Qinu, Zuko's girlfriend," she introduced herself and bowed in greeting.

Piandao bowed back, smiling warmly. "Wonderful," he said sincerely, carefully regarding the two of them.

Katara consciously moved closer to Zuko, so that their arms would be touching. But he seemed to stand loser to her as she had thought. Had he moved towards her, too?

Then Piandao slowly shook his head, before he grimaced. "I don't think, though, that it was clever to bring her with you to this gala," he said to Zuko, before he turned to Katara. "It's boring as hell."

Katara allowed her chuckle to become a loud laugh, and she saw Zuko grinning from the corner of her eye.

He shrugged. "I warned her."

Katara turned her head to him, laying a hand on his chest. "I won't let you go to a boring event all by yourself. It's more fun when we're together," she said, hoping this didn't sound too much as if they only were friends.

Zuko's smile simply widened and softened at the same time. The skin around his eyes wrinkled, which was something Katara didn't see often.

Piandao bid them goodbye then and wished them a nice evening.

It was not yet time to enter the dinner hall, but Katara still had the feeling she would need another glass of champagne. Zuko agreed and said he didn't care if anyone thought he was getting drunk by two glasses of champagne. It even would make this evening more fun.

Katara resisted the urge to make him drunk then. She practically had his consent, but she also very much wanted to leave a good impression. Not because of Zuko or his family, but because of herself. A part of her thought that her leaving a good impression this evening wouldn't ever change the political or racist opinions of the people here. Besides, if anyone here really thought badly about Southerners, they didn't even deserve Katara acting nice to them.

After getting their champagne, Zuko pulled them into a dark corner, ducking his head.

"I'm done with small talk for this evening. I talked to everyone who is important according to Father, so I'm done," he declared, before taking a big sip of his drink.

Katara chuckled. "Zuko. I understand the urge, but we can't get drunk now."

He sighed. "I know."

Katara eyed him curiously. "Though I wonder how you would behave if you were drunk."

He grinned at her, obviously already losing some inhibitions. "The feeling would be mutual, but I already know how you are when you're drunk."

Katara frowned. "How on earth would you know that?"

Zuko leaned a bit back from her, looking at her with hooded lids. "You spent a lot of time at Jet's tree house during high school, you know. You never drank on a normal day, but on Fridays, or if there was a party. From what I observed, you became braver when you were drunk. You tried to pick fights with almost everyone. You also flirted with almost everyone. Sometimes you were the only one dancing, and sometimes you would snog Jet in front of all of us, until you were sober again."

Katara blinked at him, dumbfounded. He was right. Shit, how could she have forgotten? Her cheeks flushed furiously. Oh no, why did he have to think about her snogging Jet right now? That was years ago!

She smirked at him. "That's in the past. How can you know I'll behave the same way right now, if I were drunk?"

Interest grew in Zuko's eyes.

Katara bit down on her lip, feeling as if she needed to be braver. She drank from her champagne, downing it all in one go.

Yeah, she was brave enough now.

Zuko moved closer to her, barely noticeable, as he touched her hip.

Katara suddenly felt a pressing, hot, almost aching feeling between her legs. Her eyes widened in mortification and she cleared her throat, looking away. Urgh, why did she need to relieve herself now?

"Er, do you know if there's a bathroom here?" she blurted out.

Downing all that champagne at once had really increased the pressure on her bladder.

Zuko blinked at her, his eyes clearing as if he just woke up from a dream. He nodded. "Yeah. Just a few metres behind you."

Katara wordlessly put her glass in his hand and turned around to leave for the bathroom.

She hurried, not wanting to leave Zuko alone for too long. What if he would become bored and go away? Or if some girl would start flirting with him!

Katara frowned at her own thoughts, but then realised it would be good. For anyone to believe she actually was Zuko's girlfriend, she couldn't leave him alone for too long.

The bathroom was held in the design of the entire temple, lamps looking like flaming torches built into the walls, and fire bowls on every corner of the room. The sinks looked as if they were made of old gold, and everything else was held in this natural rock look. The mirrors were lighted by fire, too. Katara's eyes grew wide as she looked around. The other women in here stared at her with curious or haughty looks. Katara made an effort not to sneer at them.

Still in the cubicle, after putting her dress back in place, Katara heard high, shrill voices talk on the other side, probably in front of the mirrors.

"I cannot believe it's true!"

"Oh no, really. I saw them here just a few minutes ago."

"And you're really sure it's her? Are you sure it was him?"

"Maybe she's just tanned."

"Puh-lease. No tan looks so much like mocha. It's her natural skin colour! She's either from the North or the South!"

"It can't be. I really thought the video was a fake or out of context…"

"It certainly is not. She's even wearing blue tonight. There's no way she's not from one of these snow and ice places."

"I'm wearing a blue dress, too!"

"But you're a Westerner!"

A loud sigh was audible. "Oh, so he's probably into exotic women. I really thought I had a chance, but even for him I wouldn't go more into the sun than I need to."

"You really think it's just because she's exotic?"

"Why else would it be? He's curious. He never had one like her before. He'll sate his curiosity and then he'll throw her away."

Katara's hands had curled to fists, and she chose that moment to flush her toilet and walk out of the cubicle.

Three pale girls with brown hair stared at Katara through the mirror.

One of them wore a blue dress, indeed. A light sky blue; it was a lovely dress with a deep back.

Katara's face remained neutral, as she stepped forward, washed her hands, opened her purse to retrieve her lip stick and repainted her lips. The champagne had washed a bit of the colour away.

Then, Katara leaned back, looked at her face from every angle, and then pretended to finally notice the other women's stare. She blinked. "Is something the matter?"

The smaller one shook her head quickly. "No! Not at all! Your dress is lovely!"

The taller one pushed her out of the way. "Step aside, On Ji." She planted herself closer in front of Katara. "I was wondering, are you the girl associated with the Kasaishis?"

Katara feigned mock surprise. "Associated? I'd think that's an understatement. I've known them for years. Since high school, actually."

The girl looked triumphant. "So you're not Kasaishi Zuko's girlfriend then?"

Katara laughed. "Oh no, I am." She smiled broadly at the women, trying not to grind her teeth. "Well, if that's all, I will…"

But now the thinnest of the three women apparently had some things to say. "That is not all. Someone like you shouldn't be here. You don't belong here. I hope the Kasaishis will come to their senses soon." And with that, the woman stepped around Katara and left, the tall one behind her, their friend grimacing in an apologising way at Katara, before following them.

Katara took a sharp breath, her hands clutching the edge of the sink.

She had always known that the Western people looked down on hers, but Wednesday at lunch and now had been the only times that Katara had really been confronted with any sort of discrimination or racism. She had felt the disapproving looks on her more than once, and sometimes she had wondered how to interpret a sentence from a person, but never before had anyone outright acted in such a way against her.

It left her feeling slightly dizzy and angry at the same time. Tears of anger appeared in her eyes, and she carefully dabbed them away with a towel so she wouldn't ruin her make-up.

Blinking rapidly, she forced a few more deep breaths into her lungs, before she exited the bathroom, too.

And then, she saw red.

The stupid thin bitch from just now was talking to Zuko!

Something inside of Katara went very still. It felt like she was cold and hot in the inside at the same time. Like a soldier, she marched over to them, not caring that her walk didn't look the least bit elegant, as her hand clenched around her purse.

Zuko spotted her, looked back at the pale woman, nodded, and interrupted her, before he walked over to Katara, who slowed her pace, not knowing what to do with all her energy after slapping the bitch was not a possibility any more.

But what was wrong with Katara? She didn't think about how she should act as Zuko's girlfriend. She really was angry that the woman had thought she could talk to Zuko, after insulting Katara in such a way.

Her jaw clenched, she grabbed Zuko's wrist and pulled him with her. She had no idea where she was going, but the only thing she cared about was that it was far away from the girls. Close to the corner of the room, where the wall they were walking along met the one in front of them, a corridor branched to their right.

Without thinking about it, Katara pulled Zuko in there. They opened a small plastic door, which looked like the stone the temple was made of from inside the hall, but from the other side of the corridor, it was just a boring, white plastic door.

Katara looked around.

Cables, wires, and weird power contraptions were lying on the floor towards the door. Some were also fixed to the walls, and apart from the light of some small screens, or blinking lights on a junction box or large battery (Katara had no idea about electricity whatsoever. Physics had always been her worst subject), the corridor was completely dark.

She let go of Zuko's wrist. "What did she say to you?" she demanded to know as she rounded on him.

"Who?"

"That woman in the red dress!" Katara almost spit.

Zuko's eyes widened, as his eyebrows contorted in confusion. "Uh… Well, she told me her name and that our parents have worked together since last year. She just introduced herself." He shrugged.

"Introduced my ass," Katara murmured, kicking the ground with her shoe in anger.

"Katara…" said Zuko slowly. "Are you okay?"

Her head snapped up at him. "No, I am not okay! That… that bitch talked about us in the bathroom! She said I was just some exotic conquest to you and made it seem like us together would be disgusting. From both our parts! And then she outright told me that I don't belong here! And I know that! Of course, I know! How could I not? The way everyone is looking and staring, and how disgusted I feel by so many of the people out there! I don't even want to belong here!" she ranted and heavily bit her lip, as the angry tears welled in her eyes again.

She stared at the door, because she thought she wouldn't be able to stand Zuko's look right now.

"I don't want you here," he murmured. "I don't want you anywhere near most of the people outside. They are… Some of them are filthy excuses for a human, others have such a vile view of the world." He swallowed. "Some… hurt a lot of people. Even in their own family." His voice became raspier every second.

Katara shivered.

"Do you want to quit?" Zuko asked matter-of-factly.

Blinking in confusion, she quickly shook her head. "No, I…" She didn't want to miss on the chance of seeing him. And she wouldn't quit because she was a coward!

"I just hate that the best we can do is pretend that all this talk out there doesn't bother us. Because we cannot act out. We have to help your father," she said in a determined voice. "And I already think you're doing a lot against all that. The way you… er, keep close to me, and how you… kiss me on the head…I think it makes people think there is genuine affection between us," she explained further.

Zuko nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's… Er, well… You have nice hair, it's not… bad kissing it or…"

Oh gods, how did this conversation turn so awkward?

He reached out to touch the strands of her hair framing her face. "I like these," he said, twirling the strand around his fingers.

Unconsciously, she stepped closer toward him.

His knuckles brushed her cheek, and his eyes sunk to her lips.

Katara felt as if a heavy weight, but a warm, almost light weight like a hundred of air balloons had settled on her chest. Breathing became harder, and her breasts felt heavier, too. As if they were filled with warm liquid from the inside. It felt good, but oh so strange, and still familiar.

Zuko's hand wandered to her neck, his thumb still in her hair. She didn't know if he pulled her to him, or if the hand in her neck made her close the distance between them. Taking one final breath, she shifted her weight forwards, almost falling into him, and pressed her lips to his.

She took a step closer to him so that her body wasn't leaning too heavily on him, and she slowly lifted her hands to grab his dinner jacket, gaining back her balance, but pulling him automatically more in. Her lips moved against his, urging him to give her an answer.

For a second, Zuko didn't seem to respond, but then his other arm wrapped around her, and he bent his neck to increase the pressure on her lips, which also prevented her from having to stand on her tiptoes. He moved his lips against hers, fast, hard, passionately. At this answer, Katara's hands wandered onto his back, pulling him closer towards her.

Oh gods, his body was pressed against hers, and for the first time she felt his chest against her breasts. Their stomachs were flush against each other, and she felt his hips just pressing on top of hers. His evening attire thankfully didn't stop her from feeling what was underneath. In high heeled shoes, her eyes were on the same level as his chin, and Katara was glad in this moment that she wore those shoes, as she knew from Aang that having to lean up so much caused aches in her neck.

She took a deep breath through her nose, knowing she was ready for some serious snogging. She opened her mouth and trailed her tongue against Zuko's lips. What came next was nothing she had anticipated.

Out of Zuko's throat came a deep sound. Not like the groan from their first kiss, but much deeper, rumbling, and so full of desire. Katara's knees got weak, and she had to refrain herself from whimpering, as he suddenly pressed her harder into him and opened his mouth to hers.

She sighed, as he let her in. Her tongue met his, touched his teeth, the inside of his mouth, she wanted to be closer, to melt with him, but pressing her body more against his didn't work very well, as they were already pretty pressed up gainst each other.

In the back of her head she worried if this was too much for Zuko, if she overwhelmed him, and he didn't know what to do, how to draw back, as she was a little aggressive about this kiss. But just as she tried to shove these worries away, she got shoved against a wall. Not painfully, but with a surprising impact. Zuko had held her head with one hand, so it didn't hit the wall, and his other hand had pushed her.

Oh gods, this was even better. His body felt so good against hers. He was tall and muscular, and she hadn't felt so happy about having such a body pressed against hers for way too long.

Well, okay, her break up from Aang was six months ago, but they hadn't snogged for three months before she had broken up with him, or had sex for a month before she had broken up with him.

And Katara liked snogging very much.

Zuko's tongue entered her mouth, almost forcefully, but darn, did it feel good! She opened her lips willingly, welcomed him into her mouth, sighed into his, and hoped she didn't taste bad. He tasted like champagne and a little, still lingering peppermint. As Katara had brushed her teeth, before she had left her flat, she hoped she tasted like this, too.

But his taste wasn't the only delicious thing about him right now. Her nose was flat against his cheek, and he smelled so fresh and hot at the same time. As if he had bathed in spices and peppermint. The mint gave it a fresh and cold note, something that reminded her of the cold winds of her home, but the spices made his scent almost irresistible. As if he had worked at a spice stall at the market all day. Exotic and exciting. She almost chuckled at the thought that it was _she_ who found _him_ exotic. She would have never thought he smelled like this, or could even kiss like this.

His hand went from her neck to her bare shoulder and down her arm. Her sensitive skin tingled, and she breathed deeply. She almost let out a moan, as his hands began to roam her hips and rips, staying in the allowed zone, but Katara really didn't care about that right now. If he'd touch her behind, she'd probably just press her hips closer to his, hoping he would push her against him.

This was so much more than their kissing lessons had been until now, and she really didn't want it to stop.

It was as if he had read her thoughts, as his hand moved over her behind to her thigh, and Katara immediately knew what he wanted. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, shifted her weight onto one foot, which wasn't easy, as she was wearing very high heeled shoes, and then made a little jump to manage to get her thigh over his hip. He helped her a bit, yanking it up, holding it there. He immediately pressed forward, and she felt him even better now, in all the right places.

Her hands wandered up to his neck and she held his head to kiss him more thoroughly. He growled lowly, moved away and promptly attached his lips to her neck. She gasped, craned her neck back, stared up at the ceiling, open-mouthed, as her fingers waved into his hair.

Oh gods, he felt so good. Katara couldn't believe how good this was. Of course, she had been curious for weeks, but this overwhelmed her senses, aroused her heavily, and made her skin tingle.

His lips and tongue on her neck kissed, licked, sucked, and all felt incredibly sensitive. Katara was ticklish at her neck, and she wondered if this affected the feeling, too, as it was almost too much, but still so good, but her body wanted her to shove him away, because it was so intense, but darn, it felt so good! When Zuko stopped his ministrations, she noticed her head had begun to jerk a little, as if she couldn't stand the way he had kissed her. And she almost couldn't.

Zuko must have got very mixed signals here, her hands still in his hair, her neck craned, but her head trying to shove him away?

Oh man.

"I-I'm ticklish there," she whispered to explain her behaviour.

Zuko sighed against her neck, which felt very good, but also made her jump a little. "That explains it well," he answered, his voice even hoarser than usually, and she could hear him breathe heavily.

He didn't seem to mind much, though, as he simply continued to kiss her further down onto her shoulder.

Katara almost laughed in relief, but gasped as she felt how his touches were pure torture. He aroused her more and more, and she only wanted more, and she didn't want to be very aroused so that it would feel disappointing when they stopped their snogging session. Although, she'd probably feel disappointed no matter when they'd stop.

Moving against him and feeling his lips on her collarbone felt great, but it wasn't enough. Katara wanted to do something, needed to do something. She bit her lip as she looked down at his bent neck. Yeah, that'll do. She swooped down and began to suck. Zuko groaned loudly. He was definitely surprised, but he seemed to enjoy it, as his tongue began to work even more passionately against her skin. Katara answered by opening her mouth wider. Zuko pushed his hips against hers, and she rocked against him, their sighs, moans, and sucking noises the only thing audible in this corridor.

Oh shit, this was much. This was too much. She wanted… But they couldn't… There were… Oh, why weren't her thoughts more… oh, this felt good. Oh, he had cupped her breasts, holy ancient spirits! Yes, this… But… No, they…

Mmmhmhmmrrrrmrnnnghghhh!

Why couldn't her life let her snog in peace? Why did she have to think now and know they should stop and return to the gala, as there was still the dinner, and…

Shit. They would look completely dishevelled! It would be obvious what they had done in this corridor!

It took her a great effort to push Zuko away, and although her arms straightened between them, her body still followed him a little. Gods, she had really needed this snog.

She took three deep breaths. "We have to…" She pointed at the door, her arms not completely doing what she wanted them to, as they barely lifted. She cleared her throat. "… go back. Dinner and…" Oh, who cared about this stupid dinner? Katara had a hot guy snogging her and she thought about their stupid job arrangement?

It was like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped over her head. She blinked a few times and saw clearly again. She had basically just snogged her boss.

Her boss Zuko, her high school nemesis, her awkward new friend, but essentially her boss. His hair was tousled, and he had a very cute look on his face. Still dazed, still hungry, and slightly confused. His lips were red and swollen, his cheeks rosy with warmth, and for a moment Katara wished she could see this face of his in a bed, in the not-so-far-away-future.

But they still needed to get through this gala. She still needed to pretend to be his girlfriend. Because she wasn't really in a relationship with him. Although, in this moment, she could imagine it vividly. It didn't feel wrong.

* * *

_Let me know what you think!:)_

_So, Katara's dress is inspired by the one Yue wears in the series, but more modern and without fur or long sleeves. I liked the combination of blue and purple on Yue very much, and the idea of a simply blue dress seemed a bit boring to me, when I wrote this. _

_The name of the help organisation PaiLaBluSp is an acronyme of Painted Lady and Blue Spirit. As the only thing close to a help organisation in Avatar would be the order of the white lotus, and that would involce Iroh, I thought about something else. And the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit (I mean Katara and Zuko, not the actual spirits) helped quite a lot of people. Of course, Zuko did not only help, but that's not important here. The things the organisation does were also inspired by what Zuko and Katara had done, or what they would be interested in to help people. _

_The banner says 2019, because if this fic would take place in this year, then there would be the Corona pandemic, and the future of my story wouldn't work. _

_Legend of Korra spoiler (I know some ATLA fans have never watched it): I chose Jinora's name for another help organisation, as the airbenders become something like a travelling help organisation in The Legend of Korra. By making the event from that organisation seem boring, I didn't mean to insult Jinora's personality, because I like her, but I know a lot of other people find her boring. For example her siblings. _

_Ueda is the name I gave that guy who wanted to sacrifice the 41st division of fire soldiers in the meeting, in which Zuko spoke up. In here, Ueda simply said something about stopping to produce a medicine product, which helped a lot of people, as it was effective and cheap, but would, of course, cause a lot of people misery, if it was stopped being produced. Zuko spoke out against that in the prologue, and then received the beating from Ozai. With his belt. That's why Zuko was so tense, when Ueda spoke to him. I hope to make Zuko slowly realising what his father had actually done, and how bad he is now, and how bad it would be to have him as president. _

_No clue who these other two girls were who were in the bathroom with On Ji. Maybe sisters of Hide. Just some made up OC bitches. And I needed a nice Fire Nation character here, and because Ty Lee wouldn't work, as she knows Katara from high school, I chose On Ji. _

_And we had some real Katara and Zuko snogging. Not the "studying", but in a way that makes it clear that it was simply what they both wanted! And it only took me twenty-two chapters! _

_I'm not very comfortable with writing snogging scenes or smut, for that matter, as I can't do it in this absolutely romantic, it-will-take-your-breath-away way. I always let the characters think about other things, or about uncomfortable things or whatever. I hope this snogging scene was okay, though, and although I think I do not excel at this, there will be equally as sexual scenes in the next chapter. I know I've said it for a lot of chapters now, but I will really change the rating soon. This story just stretches so much, it moves further away and away. _

**_Answers to reviews: _**_(**Important: **I think I'm going to reply directly to the ones having an account and reviewing in the future, as I just noticed how strange it is not to answer you for a month. So, if you'd rather have a faster answer from me, just say so in the next review and I'll make sure to do that next time.)  
_

_To _Smckoy929_: I'm sorry this took me so long, and that there weren't any confessions yet. But I think it would still be too early for that. But they will come soon, I promise! Let me just say that you definitely won't need to wait for ten chapters. Well, this chapter isn't much longer than the last one, but I hope you still liked it. Thanks for reviewing!:)  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: I hope it wasn't too much uncomfortableness on Zuko's part. I just couldn't imagine him feeling relaxed. Maybe an end of book three Zuko could do this, but we still have beginning of book three Zuko here. Er, yeah, Zuko's luck sucks. I'll try to do the reveil of why Katara couldn't get any jobs in a similar way as the situation when Zuko tells the gaang about his task for Sparky Sparky Boom Man happened in canon. But this is still far away in the future from now. I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for your review!:)_

_To _audaciarose_: Hey! Thanks for your review! It's always lovely to see a new name reviewing. I'm glad you like my story, and I can totally relate to your anger about liking it. I just read a fic which once had not been updated in five years! I'll probably be a grandma by the time it will be finished! But don't worry, I won't even leave this story for a year. I hope that I won't not update this for even half a year, but you never know what the future holds. All I'm saying is that I know how you're feeling. And thanks, I just kind of had enough of those Zutara fics, in which both of them are adult, but not behaving like adults. Or in which Katara acts like some fragile flower. There are, of course, Zutara fics out there, in which they act perfectly like adults, and I preferred this way to the other. I hope you liked this chapter!:)  
_


	24. Chapter 23

_Hi everyone! _

_This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but I had to end it there, because the rest had to be in another chapter, as I will change the rating to M with the next chapter. _

_So, if some of you don't follow this story already, and just look if I updated, please apply the filters to 'rating: all' in the future so that you will find the next updates to story in the future. _

_I hope you will enjoy this chapter. _

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Katara and Zuko had just finished straightening their clothes and running hands through their hair, trying to untangle it, as they heard a voice pronounce through a loudspeaker that the dinner would be served now.

"Is my hair okay?" Katara asked in a stressed tone.

Zuko looked up from his suit coat to look over her hair. The braids looked a little… Well, not as good as before. But it would be weirder if she appeared with an entirely different hair style to dinner. "Yes," he said.

She nodded, bit her lip and kept glancing at the door.

"Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded again, and they left the corridor to go back into the entrance hall.

Because the large crowd tried to get into the small passage, Zuko kept Katara's hand in his, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. He kept walking forwards, automatically looking for his family, but he just felt so shocked. Happy. But somehow shocked.

Katara had kissed him. Just like that, without anyone to convince that they were a couple. She had wanted to kiss him! And she'd done quite a lot more that made him wish to be able to teleport them away from here.

His heart beat had calmed, but his thoughts were still racing. Did that mean she liked him? And would they be able to be a real couple? Or shouldn't he want that?

Well, he had definitely enjoyed this snogging session, and he knew he liked being in her presence, and he definitely liked her as a person, and always sought to be alone with her, and it felt like someone was poking his heart whenever she smiled at him, and her body and lips had been quite recently on his mind, but… He shouldn't want to be Katara's real boyfriend.

He had to end this relationship after his father won the election anyway.

Just then, he spotted his sister sitting at their table, and next to her sat… Ruon Jian.

Zuko couldn't believe it. Azula had invited that idiot?

What was Ruon Jian even doing here? He was supposed to live a lazy alcohol, women, and parties life at the French Riviera.

Sighing inwardly, he made a beeline for them.

Their table was, like all the others, round and with a white tablecloth. It looked stylish, but neutral. Several chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, but this hall didn't have any columns like the last one.

After they greeted each other, Zuko ignored Ruon Jian to ask Azula: "Where are Mum and Father?"

"Probably still in the entrance hall, because someone's not done talking to them yet." She shrugged, but her eyes were on Katara. On her dress, to be precise.

"That's a nice dress, Katara. But you really should have ironed it before. It looks a little wrinkled."

Zuko blushed unwillingly. Oh no. Azula had always been way too observant.

He had wanted to keep ignoring Ruon Jian, but before Katara could reply to Azula, he changed the topic. "So, Ruon Jian, what are you doing here?"

Ruon Jian sat up. "You remember me? It's been almost ten years."

Zuko raised his eyebrows. "It's hard to forget you, when I saw you growing up through the social media, magazines, or Azula's phone."

Ruon Jian grinned. "Really?" He looked back at Azula.

She rolled her eyes. "You know I followed you on social media," she said dismissively.

"So why are you back?" Zuko asked again.

"Oh," Ruon Jian nodded. "Yeah, that. Well, I live with my grandparents now, because Dad said it is good for a young mind to live in different places on Earth." He lowered his voice to imitate his father.

"He caused a scandal," Azula interrupted.

Ruon Jian pouted at her.

She shrugged. "They could find out through the news anyway. Well, Ruon Jian threw a secret party that for once didn't stay secret. The neighbours had enough of it, and called the police."

Ruon Jian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, my Dad was super annoyed. I used to tell the neighbours when I threw a party and asked them what they wanted in return, so that we could be loud. Getting them the latest fashion from my mother's label had worked before, but this time they wanted more. I thought they just bluffed, though."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Which fashion label belongs to your mother?" she asked, just as Ozai and Ursa came to their table.

The question was postponed for later.

Zuko's parents were fortunately completely oblivious to the ruffled state of Katara's and Zuko's clothes and hair, and didn't notice anything unlike Azula.

Ruon Jian was an idiot, but at least, he behaved decently towards Katara. He even seemed impressed with her studies and complimented her on…

Wait.

Zuko narrowed his eyes.

Ruon Jian was smiling crookedly, his eyes a bit cast down, while Katara told him about a lecture she'd had last term. He asked her questions that sounded as if he were interested, and said often "Wow" or "You're so smart". Hi body leaned forward, and his eyes kept a steady eye contact with her. He nodded along, and his hands lied in the middle of the table. Too close to Katara's!

Zuko leaned towards Azula. "Why is your date flirting with my girlfriend?" Zuko hissed.

"Is he now?" Azula asked in mocked surprise.

Why would Azula…?

"What are you trying to do?" he asked her lowly.

Azula shrugged. "Well, Ruon Jian is way better company than you, he's charming, and although he hasn't got as much money as our family does, they're showing off theirs way more. I want to know if Katara is a gold digger," she answered.

Aghast, Zuko leaned back, and stared in shock and disgust at his sister. Katara? A gold digger? Never.

If he wouldn't pay her, she wouldn't even want to be here. She had made it pretty clear that she didn't like this kind of society. And about the money he paid her… It wasn't like she was using him. For what would she use him? She didn't even like this job. She just told him she did it because she thought his father would be a good president. And she'd said she didn't want to be here, didn't want to belong here. If Katara would have a job, she wouldn't be here.

And it was his fault that she didn't have one. He had made sure of that by paying Supaki Nensho.

Guilt suddenly grasped his heart, and Zuko swallowed. He had practically forced Katara into this fake relationship. And now he had taken advantage of her affection, and even though he did like her, it wasn't like they actually ever could be together.

His hand found Katara's thigh, and she turned her head to him in a surprised manner, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

He shook his head. "Everything's fine. Sorry."

She nodded slowly, before she kept continuing her conversation with Ruon Jian. But Zuko kept his hand on her thigh. And he observed them well.

Out of Chan and Ruon Jian, the cousins Azula and he had been forced to play with when they had went on holiday to Ember Island at first and then the French Riviera, he had disliked Ruon Jian the most. He had always been so interested in his looks, even as a child. And he had never played fair, had always sought any occasion to brag about anything or to show off.

Ozai wrapped Zuko in a conversation about the business partners who were here, and asked him who he had spoken to. Zuko thought carefully and chose his words carefully, too, as he answered his father. He knew he'd done everything right, but right could change in a matter of seconds to wrong, where his father was involved.

When dinner was served, Zuko was a little nervous, but everything went right, and no one acted in a despicable way towards Katara. For some reason, he had the urge to punch someone who would do so. Although, he also wanted to punch this Ruon Jian. Who was he to think he could flirt with Katara? She was Zuko's girlfriend!

He blinked.

Well, not really, but everyone thought that. And he didn't like how Ruon Jian kept staring onto Katara's décolleté. It wasn't even that impressive. Well, it was quite nice and pretty, but the swell of her breasts was practically only implied. It was not too much, there wasn't even a slit visible, and shit, was he staring now?

Zuko tore his eyes off Katara's breasts quickly and hoped no one had seen it.

After the main course, there was an endless, boring, on droning presentation about PaiLaBluSp's accomplishments of the last year, what had been the most successful, who they'd liked to thank, and finally, who the donator of the year would be.

The content of the presentation wasn't really the bad thing, the bad thing was this monotone voice of this old Eastern man.

Ozai became the donator of the year, and Zuko could see that his father looked immensely pleased. Ursa, Azula, Ruon Jian, Katara, and he clapped for him, all in an absolute delighted way.

Zuko's father held a short speech, and was asked what he would like to support in the future. More sick children, orphans, or puppies?

Ozai hesitated. "The socially weak. The minorities. In the past, I have never really thought about them, I must admit, because I've never come into contact with them. They live in their part of town, and I in another. Or they live on the other side of Elementia. I would like to support the Northern, Southern, and Mountain Provinces and help to build them up to the level of our infrastructure. I wouldn't have thought about this if my son's girlfriend Katara Qinu wouldn't have opened my eyes for them. And of course, it will be easier to act on these wishes, if I'll be elected this December." He chuckled. "Not that I'm here for advertisement. I'm simply glad I could do so many good things. And I will do more good things to more and other kinds of minorities." He bowed. "Thank you."

The hall exploded with applause, which surprised Zuko quite much. He hadn't thought here would be much people who would like the North, South, and Mountains helped.

He looked over to Katara. She looked stunned, while she clapped with the others.

Ozai left the small stage, and the head of PaiLaBluSp appeared again. "You heard it. Kasaishi, the friend of the minorities." He pointed at their table. "A family man. A man concerned about our country. He might not be here for advertisement, but I say screw it. Vote for Kasaishi!"

The hall cheered.

Ozai smiled in a humble way, as he sat down on his chair. Ursa grabbed his hand and squeezed it affectionately.

When the noise subsided, Ozai leaned over the table towards Katara. "I hope this was okay for you. I should have asked you, if you're comfortable with me saying this."

Katara shook her head. "No, it was okay. I was just surprised. And did you really mean that? You want to industrialise the North, South, and the Mountains?"

Ozai nodded. "Of course. Economically weak provinces are a cause for the imbalance of the government. I do not seek to destroy your way of life, if that's what you're concerned about, Katara," he reassured her softly. "But I don't want anyone to live in poverty. And even if herding yacks makes them happy, they should have at least warm water. I also think it could help in creating more diversity in the country. As I noticed that there are barely any other Southerners or Northerners living in the capital. "

Katara nodded slowly. "Yes. You're right."

Zuko felt like Katara wasn't quite that happy about the announcement, but maybe she also simply felt uncomfortable because Ozai had said her name. He stroked her thigh in a reassuring way.

Or what he hoped was a reassuring way.

It probably had an effect, however, since Katara's answers to Ruon Jian weren't so friendly anymore, and she replied in a way more stilted manner. Azula frowned at that, while Zuko grinned back at her. He felt like he had won.

After dessert, the space from the tables to the stage was cleared, and a band appeared on stage.

Zuko leaned close to Katara to whisper in her ear. "I have to dance with Mum and Azula, too. So we can leave after three dances, if you like."

She nodded, but didn't quite look at him. He wondered if she was somehow mad at him.

They danced firstly with each other, though, which seemed to be a cause for Katara's unrest and anger. "You didn't tell me we'd have to dance," she hissed.

"Sorry?"

"I can't dance!"

"But you told me you liked dancing," he objected, feeling confused. He took her hands and laid one on his shoulder.

Katara stared at his throat. "That doesn't mean I know how to waltz! Why are we even dancing this Western dance? What about Western province dances? Isn't there a fly of the dragon or jumping phoenix or something?"

Zuko chuckled. "Those dances are for less formal occasions, Katara. And only old people still dance that. A waltz is perfect for the high society. It's slow, elegant, fits classic music, and the couples don't have to stand too close to each other. Just move your feet back, when I move mine forward, and the other way around. I act, and you react, okay?"

She nodded, but still looked nervous and looked down at his feet. "Will you step on my dress?"

"This shouldn't happen," he reassured her, as he began to lead them across the dance floor, without bumping into other couples.

His concern that Katara would stumble vanished quickly. She followed his lead almost as easily as if she had practised for this. He didn't feel like he was shoving her around the dance floor and although she didn't try to lead, sometimes it felt like she was pulling him with her. She reacted so fast, that it felt like they moved simultaneously.

He felt his chest widen, and looked down into her eyes.

She smiled at him. "It's not so bad," she admitted.

There was the poking again. The flutter, and then the desire to press her close to him and kiss her again.

Her lips parted, as the sucked in a breath.

The song ended, and Azula was already there to pull him away, and then Ozai danced with Katara, and Ursa with Ruon Jian.

Zuko scowled at his sister. "You don't even like Ruon Jian!"

Azula shrugged. "I thought Katara might like him."

Zuko snorted. "She doesn't. And she would never do that. Believe me, money doesn't impress her in the slightest."

"Why? Did you try to win her over with expensive gifts before you noticed she cares more about personality than wealth?" Azula asked snidely.

Zuko stopped himself from stepping onto her foot. "No," he growled. That was true, at least. But he couldn't really well say that what was going on between him and Katara didn't have anything to do with money. Maybe the real thing hadn't anything to do with money, but Zuko didn't even know what the real thing was. What was his real relationship to Katara?

"Well, then be happy. Your girlfriend obviously likes you," Azula snorted.

"You're acting like you can't actually believe it," he grumbled.

"I know from Mai that you were horrible as a boyfriend. But maybe you learned from your mistakes."

He scowled at the mentioning of Mai's and his relationship. It had been a weird disaster of affection, boredom, hatred, desire, and hurting each other to get a reaction from each other. Their communication had been crappy, and instead of talking about each other to each other, they had both had stupid plans to make the other one do what they wanted them to do. In the end, they had only hurt each other.

"Honestly, Azula, my relationship with Katara is none of your business, and I would welcome it if you would keep out of it. I don't need your opinion," Zuko declared.

Azula rolled her eyes. "Fine. Sorry that I'm looking out for you."

He pinched her in the side, knowing that it would tickle her. Azula let out a quiet shriek and glared at him.

He grinned, and she huffed, no talking to him for the rest of the song.

When he danced with his mother, she told him again how happy she was for him that he had found Katara, and that they looked so good together, and how much she liked Katara.

Zuko almost got a bad conscience, knowing whatever his mother hoped for them would never happen.

"Well, our relationship is still new," he said evasively.

"But you love her, right?" Ursa probed.

Zuko tensed. He had to lie to his mother now. Normally, he would simply hiss "Mum! Stop it!" and be done with it, but that didn't come to his mind now. He had thought about his real feelings for Katara all evening long, and being asked if he loved her so directly made him think.

"Er, I think it's still too early to say that."

Ursa looked a little angry. "It certainly is not. I see how you look at her. It's more than what was between you and that friend of Azula's."

"Mai," Zuko sighed.

Ursa nodded. "Yes. And just because you think it's too early, doesn't mean it has to be. I'm pretty sure she loves you, too." Her smile was meant to be encouraging, but all Zuko felt was panic.

What if he was in love with Katara? Or if he was about to fall for her? And if she returned his feelings? Or what if she didn't? What would all that mean? It would complicate everything and destroy everything!

His stomach felt like it was making somersaults, and Zuko didn't know if it was the panic or the feelings for Katara.

His eyes searched for her, and saw how she leaned away from Roan Jian, who whispered something in her ear. His hand on her back was a little too low, and he was generally a little too close to Katara.

Zuko kept throwing them harsh glances, while dancing with his mother, and when the song was over, he quickly kissed her on her cheek and said: "Bye, Mum. We're leaving."

Katara had taken a few steps back from Ruon Jian, but he was still holding one of her hands and attempting to kiss it!

With a few long strides, he was at Katara's side, and pulled her hand out of Ruon Jian's.

"Sorry, but we're leaving." He didn't even try to hide his contempt for Ruon Jian, as he glared at him. Then he looked at Katara. "Did you leave anything at our table?"

She shook her head.

He nodded and shoved her a bit behind him, before he took a step to Ruon Jian. When they had been kids, Ruon Jian had been taller than Zuko, but now he was smaller, and that gave Zuko some weird, male satisfaction. "Hands. Off. _My_. Girlfriend," he growled and stared the other man down with a hard glare.

Ruon Jian's eyes widened, as he shook his head. "Man, I didn't do anything!"

"I know what was going on here, and I'm warning you to not do it again." With that, he turned around, and pulled Katara with him to the entrance hall.

"Oh, wow, you let me walk by myself," she said sarcastically. "I thought you would haul me over your shoulder the way you just behaved."

"I'll explain in the car," he murmured, as all he wanted to do was getting away from here.

When they stepped out of the temple, there were still a lot of reporters, and Katara immediately grasped his arm. He slowed his pace, and tried to cool his features. He didn't want this to look as if he were mad at her.

Which he wasn't.

He was still fuming, though, while they waited for his car at the entrance to the temple grounds. Katara moved around rather nervously.

Zuko's anger felt a little unjustified, but it just didn't go away, and he felt pent up with raw energy, and even when his car was finally there and he sped up to 120 km/h on the highway, he still didn't feel much better.

"So?" Katara asked from the passenger seat. "You wanted to explain something?"

"Azula had Ruon Jian set on you. She wanted to know if you're only interested in me because of my family's money."

"But he didn't ask me anything about us!" Katara objected.

"No. But Azula wanted to know if you were attracted to money. If you would flirt with Ruon Jian," he gritted out between his teeth.

"Ooohhh," Katara said as if only now the whole evening made sense. "I thought he was just an asshole who couldn't even be faithful to his date for one evening!"

Zuko snorted. "So, er, what exactly did he say? He didn't… I mean… Did he come too close to you? I couldn't really see you through the entire last dance."

"No." Katara shook her head. "I mean, he was annoyingly close all the time, but I didn't want to cause a scene. I understood this event was important for your family, and I didn't want to ruin it by slapping him."

Zuko felt how the muscles in his neck tensed. "What did he say?"

Katara grimaced. "Some really disgusting comments about how I look, and that he found me desirable, and then he asked if I'd like to ditch you to come with him to his hotel suite. He talked quite a lot about how expensive that suite was, but if the money was meant to attract me, it does make sense now." She shrugged. "I told him I was flattered, but that you were my boyfriend, and I only wanted you, so no."

The words felt like concrete in Zuko's stomach. It felt suddenly incredibly heavy, while his chest became light, as if someone was filling it with air like an air balloon. It felt like he wished her words were true. How would it feel like to be the only one Katara wanted?

He bit his lip, because the thought immediately turned him on.

"Okay." Zuko nodded.

He liked the casual way she had talked about Ruon Jian. As if she was talking about the weather, about something completely unimportant. It even sounded as if she had found him a little ridiculous. It made Zuko feel immensely better.

Zuko drove in a very determined way, and Katara searched for good music on the radio. But the hour was full, so only news was coming.

"The latest survey shows that Kasaishi Ozai has more than 30 % of the votes, followed by Kuei Guówáng with 27 %. It looks like the final decision will happen between these two candidates. PKP and EKP are once again the country's parties with the most votes."

Zuko looked over at Katara, who smiled at him.

When he reached the parking place for visitors to the dormitories, and turned off the engine, he had a weird feeling in his stomach again. Somehow, he felt nervous.

"So, the evening was…" Katara started. "I wanted to say not that bad, but it was pretty awful. Though not all of it," she added in a thoughtful voice that sounded a little deeper than normal.

Curiously, he turned towards her. "Like what?"

Katara tapped her chin, thinking. "Hm, the dancing wasn't so bad."

He leaned his head against the rest and raised an eyebrow. "I thought Ruon Jian tried to grab your ass."

Katara chuckled and leaned a bit forward. "I meant dancing with you. Dancing with your father also wasn't that nice."

Zuko frowned. "Why?"

"Small talk. I can't stand it." She shrugged and then tapped her chin again. "But I think the dancing was the only good part of the evening."

Zuko blinked. Er… So, er, did she mean she hadn't liked kissing him at all?

She leaned even closer to him and grabbed his thigh. The lights went out in his car, and he felt as if all of his other senses heightened. He took deep breaths. Maybe she was just teasing him. Maybe she would lean forward, kiss him, and say that this was the best part, or something similar.

Instead, she kissed his cheek. "Good night, Zuko."

He felt how his mouth opened in shock and surprise, and he probably looked like an idiot, but then she suddenly grabbed his lapels and pulled him closer.

"Or maybe you can think about a better part of the evening," she whispered and then leaned into him.

Zuko didn't fight her and found her lips on his. He closed his eyes and immediately opened his mouth, as he wanted to taste her tongue again. His left hand found her waist and pulled her closer.

Her hands wandered over his chest onto his shoulders and on his neck, her fingers digging in his hair. Oh, that felt good.

Zuko intensified their kiss and could feel his arousal flare, when she suddenly pulled away again. He panted.

"What if we…," Katara closed her eyes, "go upstairs to continue this?"

Zuko swallowed.

Oh hell, yeah. Yes, definitely, said his body.

But his mind hadn't said goodbye yet. "U-upstairs?" T-to continue this?" he asked like an idiot.

Katara nodded, her teeth biting on her lower lip. Oh, he liked it when she did that.

Maybe his mind had said goodbye after all, as he wasn't moving, only staring at her lips, and then she suddenly jerked back. "I-I mean, just… Or not. This… The car is good, too. Or I can also just go, if you prefer this. I just thought you…"

"What?"

She pressed her lips together and wouldn't look at him. "Well, maybe I misinterpreted your signals."

"Signals?" He was confused. When had he said he wanted to go to her flat?

Katara huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You grabbed my thigh and kept stroking it!"

Yes, he had done that. He felt how blood rushed into his cheeks. "Yes, but… I didn't mean it like that. You just…" He shrugged. "It was meant to be comforting and reassuring."

"When your hand was almost right between my thighs?" Katara snapped.

He felt himself flush even more. "I-I didn't mean… It wasn't… I just thought it was your thigh, okay? I didn't think about how high up my hand was going!"

"And then why did you want to leave as soon as possible?" she snarled.

"Because I thought you didn't like it there! You said you found the people horrible, and I thought you would be happier if we left early!" he shouted, now getting a little angry. There, he had only thought about her wellbeing, and cared about how she felt, and she just thought he wanted to get her home for what? Snogging? Sleeping with each other?

Her mouth opened to say something else, but she clapped it shut again and started to gather her dress in her hands and opened the door.

"Wait! What are you… Katara!"

"Good. Night. ZUKO!" She slammed the door shut and began to walk to her building.

Zuko sat there for two seconds, staring after her like an idiot, before he quickly opened his door and got out of the car. "Katara!" he shouted, closed the door and the car, before he jogged after her.

He had stopped thinking about what this could mean, and about what his father wanted him to do. He just knew that Katara was mad at him, and he didn't like that. She was also mad at him for something stupid, because however she might have misinterpreted his signals, the intention behind them was still the same. Right now, he just wanted to follow her, make up, and just spend the rest of the night with her. Talking, watching a film, kissing, snogging, washing dishes, he didn't care.

She ignored him and opened the door. He ran fast enough to slip in before the door closed again. Katara was already on the stairs.

"Go away!" she growled and had trouble to walk up the stairs with her skirt in her hands.

He jumped two steps at a time, and then grabbed her elbow on the first floor. "Katara."

She turned around, her mouth twisted to tell him something that was not nice, he was sure of that, but he took a step towards her, kept holding her elbow and pressed his lips onto hers. He held her head with his other hand, hoping she wouldn't move away, as he slanted his lips against hers. She didn't respond, but she also didn't draw back.

"I'd love to go upstairs with you," he whispered. "I was just surprised you'd even ask me this," he tried to explain himself. His lips moved over her cheek. "But I'd love to continue this."

He heard her breath hitch, and then felt how she grabbed his arms to push him away.

Oh shit. He had ruined it all. Everything!

Katara stared at him with hard, determined eyes, as she took deep breaths. "Okay," she said. "Come." Then she turned around and walked up the stairs.

Again, he felt pretty dumbfounded, but hurried to follow her.

Oh, he had her behind directly in his face and it swung from one side to the other. Zuko blinked. He should really stop staring. This was undignified, as he acted like a dog who saw a bone.

And this was a particularly curvy bone.

But then Katara stopped at the fourth storey and opened her door. Zuko swallowed. He would… Well, he didn't know where this would lead, and he didn't know what exactly Katara wanted, but he would take what he was given and enjoy it immensely.

* * *

_Thanks for reading, and please review!:D I hope you liked this chapter! _

_In the first version of this chapter, I had Chan (from "The Beach", the guy who kisses Azula at his house party) as Azula's date, but I thought Azula would want Chan's attention for herself and wouldn't tell him to flirt with her brother's girlfriend. Zuko also can't stand Ruon Jian (the guy who flirted with Mai in "The Beach"), and I think he didn't care much about Chan. _

_There was a little Ozai for president in here, because the next chapters will mainly focus on Katara's and Zuko's relationship, and I wanted to boost the political part of this story a bit. I'm not very into politics, though, and my mother language is not English, so whatever I'll write about politics might have mistakes in it, e.g. I might use the wrong vocabulary. I think I will keep sprinkling moments about politics into the chapters which should mainly be about Katara and Zuko. _

_Er, well, about Zuko's feelings. It might seem like he doesn't like Katara as much as she likes him, but his father is still a problem, and Zuko isn't yet on the side of screw you, Ozai. In my opinion, he is in love with Katara, or is just falling for her, but doesn't think about it, and doesn't want it to be true. He knows in the end it would have to be Katara or his father, because Ozai already told him he wouldn't want Zuko to really be with Katara. So Zuko might fear to get disinherited or outcast by his family. And he was already outcast once. He got his frigging back whipped by disrespecting his father at the age of thirteen, so he's unconsciously afraid of a similarly grave punishment. But Zuko is still not really ready to think about what his father had done to him. That's why he's more reluctant to really think about his feelings for Katara. But I know Zuko is reckless, and passionate, and brave. However, when he will notice he's in love, he will still feel very conflicted, so he might seem more like a coward than he actually is. But that's still a long way off._

**_Answers to reviews:_** _(since no one told me they would like a direct answer, I'm answering here again. I hope that's okay with you.)_

_To _Smckoy929_: Thanks for your review!:D Yeah, it made me kind of aggressive, while I was writing this. But the problem is that when a person acted in an unfriendly way towards Katara, she just thought it was because of her origin, but maybe the person also had a bad day. The problem is that racism is always a possible option as a reason for unfriendliness. Thanks, I hope I kept it relatively realistic. I hope you liked this chapter, although it wasn't that long.  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: You thought the snogging scene was spicy? Wow. Thanks, because when I wrote it, I was literally like: 'Err, and what can they do now? I need another expression for kissing with tongue! What are their hands doing? Shit, I forgot their hands!'. So I'm glad the scene turned out not to be completely awkward. Yeah, I liked having Piandao there, too. I was thinking about putting Zhao in there, too, but I didn't want to think about a family name for him. And I thought the General who wanted to sacrifice the 41st division was bad enough. Thanks for reviewing!:D  
_

_To _audaciarose_: Thank you!:D I hope you liked the gala dinner, although the scene was rather short. _

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Wow, thanks. Well, I just think about how strange I find rich people, to be honest. I know you shouldn't condemn rich people, and of course I don't say no to small luxuries, and I know people can be nice and good, too, even if they're rich, but some of the sums they're paying for stuff makes me sick. And Katara is a very judgmental character, so I think she would react that way. Thanks for your review!:D  
_

_To _Darklady_: Thanks a lot! I was worried the snogging scene was too awkward. Well, nope, I do not want to keep it rated T, as I'll change the rating for the next chapter. I assume you do not have an account, so think about changing the rating in the filters to 'all' so that you can read the next chapter, when I'll update. I kept thinking about the next chapter quite a lot, so you should expect it to be published by the weekend. Thanks for reviewing!:D  
_


	25. Chapter 24

_Hi everyone! I really hurried to get this chapter written, so you are getting it now! This chapter is pretty long for the chapters of this story, as the firsts just had around 3.000-6.000 words. Well, I hope you will enjoy this 8.000 words monstrosity of a WZNaG chapter._

_And as I told you, this is where the rating climbs up! And I'm terrified. Honestly, I've never written a scene like this. And definitely not from the point of view of a man. Sooooo... I hope this will be okay._

_Anyways, please enjoy and let me know what you think!:)_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters._

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Although he had acted rashly before, now Zuko felt insecure again.

Katara had laid her purse on her dinner table, and he closed the door behind him. He eyed her hungrily in her blue and purple dress. He wondered if she wore a bra, as the fabric enclosed her breasts so perfectly.

He took off his suit coat and hung it over a chair, then pulled at his bow tie to put it over the suit coat.

Katara tugged her hair behind her ears, looking at him through her deep, blue eyes, which seemed larger than usual. Her lips were parted, and he thought the look in her eyes was desire, as he had never seen it before, but he couldn't be sure.

He took a step towards her and lifted his hands slightly to put them on her hips. The soft fabric of her dress stroked his fingers and he sucked in a breath.

Katara laid her hands on his shoulders and lifted her head to meet his lips with hers. Zuko had thought they would kiss each other the same way as before. Passionately and heated, but it was slower, softer. He revelled in it, and closed his eyes. There was almost a tenderness to their kiss, which would have felt good, if it didn't also frighten him a little. Tender and soft was nice, but it was not the right thing for now.

He pulled her to him, and she opened her lips at his mouth, their tongues touching. He dipped his head to deepen their kiss, searching to enter her mouth in the deepest way possible.

Katara pressed her body to his so that he felt her breasts and her stomach against his torso and only wanted to pull that dress from her. His hands moved over her hips, tracing their form. He felt her hands wandering to the buttons of his shirt and immediately began to search for the zipper on her dress. What he found instead was a row of little buttons, all close to each other. Oh, that would be difficult.

Katara pulled his button-down shirt out of his trousers, and pushed her hands up his stomach. She let out a huff, which almost sounded angry, as she pulled his undershirt out of his trousers, too. Zuko's lips pulled into a smile, as he kept kissing her.

Hm, her lips were so soft and plump. They had to cover all of his, he was sure of it. The slightly dry spot was still there, although she had worn some lip stick before. Her dry lip skin scratched against his lips in an incredibly sensitive manner. Heat travelled up his spine and sank into his stomach.

He pushed her slightly backwards, as he started to take steps forward.

Katara let out a noise that made him stop. She pulled out of their kiss, his lips still following hers.

"Wait," she panted, before she began to open the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers were shaking, and she took too long for Zuko's taste.

"Stop," he said and put his hands under the hem of his undershirt before pulling it and the shirt up and over his head. He threw it somewhere behind him, not caring.

Katara's hands went to his stomach and she slowly spread her fingers. Zuko swallowed. He looked down at her, but couldn't see her face well, because she was staring at her fingers.

She moved them slowly and lightly, almost teasingly, up and down and from side to side, over the ridges of his muscles. A few times, she even dipped her fingers into his waistband, but never went further down.

Zuko took deep breaths, his chest rising and falling quickly. After a few more moments of the teasing touch of her fingers he couldn't stand it anymore and sank his forehead onto hers. Katara looked quickly up in surprise, almost bumping noses with him.

He jerked back slightly. "Careful."

"Sorry," Katara muttered, and the touch of her fingers left him. Curiously, he watched where she put her hands only to see they were on her own back. And then he noticed how her décolleté sank a little.

Quickly, he turned her around so that her back was turned to him and worked on the hundreds of little buttons. It wasn't easy, and he was sure he needed longer fingernails to do this, but there was a will, so there was a way.

He put her hair aside so that her shoulder blades were bare before him. Sinking his face onto her shoulder, he began to kiss her skin, and he found that while not looking at the buttons, it was easier to open them. The dress slid down a bit more. He could feel on her back that Katara was not wearing a bra. He almost growled, as he licked over her skin. She tasted sweet and soft, if soft had a taste. It was almost like clouds made of honey. He couldn't wait to finally touch more of her and hopefully kiss more of her, too.

The last button didn't end above her behind, but right on it. He shamelessly used the excuse to brush his hands and fingers against her round cheeks, before he grabbed the dress and pulled it down. It revealed a back that was even darker than the rest of her skin.

He saw her shoulder blades and her spine, could see the shadow of her rips and the roundness of her hips. Now, there were only her panties. Dark blue and only made of lace.

Oh, shit. He just wanted to pull these down! Now!

_Okay, Zuko, don't get ahead of yourself. Slow down. Maybe she doesn't even want to have sex. Don't act like a child in a sweets shop. Relax. Slow it down. _

He breathed again, taking deep breaths to calm himself, and then Katara turned around. Zuko's eyes went immediately to her breasts, which were entirely covered by her hair. He frowned, before he slowly lifted his hands, and then looked into her eyes.

They were open, her lashes pressed against the skin under her eyebrows. She'd never looked at him before like that.

He brushed her hair aside. And blinked. When he looked up, he could see a smirk curling Katara's lips.

"That's a special bra," she said lowly. "It's more comfortable to wear and very practical, when you wear something without straps or with a bare back," she explained and undid the ties between her breasts.

The fabric looked thin, but firm. As Katara opened the ties, the pressure began to leave and her breasts widened a little. Zuko lifted his hands to the sides of the bra, slowly and gently pealing it off her skin. "Did you use glue to hold it there?"

Katara giggled. "No. The bra glues by itself. It feels a little like tape, but softer."

Then, he managed to pull it off and almost jumped in surprise, as Katara's breasts jumped a little to the sides, as they had been pushed to the middle by the bra before. Zuko blinked. "You're sure this is comfortable?" He held the bra up.

"Yes! What do you know about bras anyway? It's really helpful, because then you don't have to decide between… oh," she gasped, when his fingers ran over her breasts.

Zuko licked his lips. "Don't stop on my account. I'm listening." He had let her bra fall to the floor, not able to wait any longer to touch her. He let his fingers glide down and ran them up again to her collarbones. He felt himself harden and push against his trousers.

Katara's lids dropped, and her breath became deeper. "Yeah, okay," she murmured and leaned closer towards him.

His heart began to pound harder. Shit, it looked like she really liked what he was doing. He knew he liked it, but that she would enjoy it so much… He quickly leaned forward to kiss her again.

Katara moaned and pulled him closer at his waist, their upper bodies touching and pressing against each other. He hitched a breath and groaned into her mouth, as he rubbed his rips on her breasts. She responded by moving her breasts against him, too, moving her hands over his sides up, over his shoulders, and in his neck, pulling his head down to her.

His hands had wandered to her hips again, and his thumbs began to wander deeper. He again made a step, trying to shove her backward. He had wanted to bring her to the bed, but instead he shoved her against the dinner table.

Katara hopped on the table, wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her core against his erection. He groaned into her mouth and began to kiss her more wildly. She moaned against his lips and then grasped his hips tightly.

Fuck. This was too much. He couldn't… He wrapped his arms around her to hold her steady and began to push his hips forward between her legs. He gasped. Oh, this was good. This felt good. So good…

His hands roamed her torso almost frantically, as he grinded himself against her, and he heard her reactions to his attentions in her gasps and moans. He grabbed her breasts, noticing that although they weren't small, his hands still covered them entirely. Katara arched her back and sighed, which sounded more like a moan. He pushed her back with his hands still on her breasts, and Katara almost fell on the table, as she noticed what he wanted her to do. In this position he could still grind himself against her, but also caress her breasts with his mouth without having to crane his neck too much.

But before he could dive down to brush his lips over those mounds his eyes were pulled to her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes only half open, and her lips were red, swollen and parted. She breathed through her mouth and stared at the ceiling, her hair was spread under her. Zuko had this air balloon feeling in his chest again.

Instead of attaching his lips to her breasts directly, he let his hands wander slowly over her body, touching and stroking every centimetre that he could reach except for her breasts. Her breathing became deeper, but hitched several times, as she gasped for air. His eyes burned, as he observed the way she let her head loll to the side, before she suddenly grabbed his wrists tightly.

Feeling surprised, Zuko stopped.

Katara turned her eyes on him, and what surprised him even more, was that she was glaring at him. "Will you touch my freaking tits now or not?" she snarled.

He felt his eyes widen, before a grin tore his lips apart. He did as she had asked. "I didn't think you would get so desperate," he murmured, as he began to knead her breasts softly. Hm, they felt wonderful. Warm, soft, and so full.

He licked his lips again.

"I'm not desperate," hissed Katara and slapped his arm in anger.

Zuko tensed. Shit, had he just become even harder?

She lifted her hips to press her core to his erection again.

He gasped. "Shit, Katara!"

She let out a happy sigh and leaned back again.

Twisting his mouth in annoyance, Zuko began to knead her breasts with more vigour, pressing his thumbs against her nipples. Katara moaned in response, and he felt a grin pull at his lips again, but then the grip of her legs around his hips tightened, and she began to grind herself against him.

Zuko didn't stop the groan from his throat and leaned forward, supporting himself on his elbows next to Katara's upper arms as he met her hips with his. Wow, oh shit, this was getting better and more and… Oh, gods!

He wanted to start sucking at her neck, when she suddenly pushed him away.

Breathing deeply, he stared at her in confusion, when she sat up and pressed her hands to his stomach again. Well, at least, it didn't look like she wanted to stop completely. Her fingers moved southwards, and Zuko felt his stomach flutter.

Katara avoided his bulge, however, and simply opened his suit trousers, before pushing them down. She untangled her legs from his hips, pushed him a little further away and hopped off the table.

Zuko couldn't believe it. They were both only wearing their underpants. He and Katara. Making out, now only in their underpants. How did that even happen?

The girl who'd hated him in high school had let him undress her to her underpants and had undressed him to his underpants, too. Although he knew she didn't hate him anymore, and he had also come to like her quite much, he still felt a little smug. If he could only tell fifteen-year old Katara what they were doing right now…

He quickly stepped out of his trousers.

Katara suddenly leaned forward, and all Zuko could see was her back and her behind clad in her lacy, dark blue panties. Zuko felt a pull at his feet and realised she was opening the ties of his shoes. He felt himself flush a little.

"Thanks," he rasped, before taking a few steps away to take off his shoes and socks properly.

Katara took off her high heeled shoes quickly, and then took his wrist to pull him along with her towards her bed. She climbed quickly to the side on the wall and turned around to look at him. Zuko sank onto the bed, his knees on the edge and then crawled towards the woman lying on the other side, waiting for him. He climbed on top of her, supporting himself on his elbows and knees, as he hovered over her.

His erection was straining against his shorts, and he let his hips sink slowly onto Katara's. She took in a deep breath, when their skin touched again, and her leg parted immediately, as she pressed herself to his erection again.

He groaned, and then almost let himself fall on her, as he captured her lips in a hungry and devouring kiss. The hot wetness of her mouth and tongue aroused him even more, as he hoped to feel a similar heat around his hard shaft soon.

But then her hands wandered from his upper arms to his back. Zuko jerked away so fast that her hands fell back to her sides. She blinked in confusion, still panting. "What?" she breathed.

Zuko swallowed. He'd told this lie twice before, but that didn't make it easier. "I… My back… is extremely sensitive," he lied, his tone a mix of shyness and remorse. "The skin. It feels weird when someone touches it. I don't like it."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Grimacing, Zuko nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I know it's impractical."

She nodded. "Okay." Her hands lifted to his neck again to pull him down.

Zuko didn't move.

"I won't touch your back, okay?" said Katara, her lips forming a smile.

He nodded slowly. He trusted her.

She began kissing his lips again and moving her hips against his, rubbing her soft curves against his hard edges to warm him again. He felt how he relaxed again, as he allowed himself to lose himself in her kisses and touches and in the movements of her body.

His nose pressed into her cheek, as he lifted his hands to cup the sides of her head. He tangled his fingers in her hair and held her head to deepen their kiss. He pressed his lips so tightly to hers, it almost hurt. He enclosed his lips around her lower lip, and her tongue began to caress his upper lip. Groaning, he sucked her lower lip a little into his mouth, and Katara almost attacked his upper lip with her tongue. The moment he let her lower lip go, he felt her teeth sink a little into his. Oh, that… Wow.

He rammed his erection harder against her, when she bit him again. She gasped, but he kept feeling her teeth pulling, biting or scraping against his lips. The slight prick went directly to his groin, causing him to rub harder against her.

Then she pulled her lips away from his, and he saw how she pressed her head into her pillow and sighed so loudly it was almost a moan. Her eyes were not only closed, but also pressed together, as she contorted her face. Her hands wandered to his hips and on his buttocks to press him harder between her legs.

Zuko groaned and then dipped his head to finally press his lips to her breasts. He didn't waste much time, but immediately licked over her nipple and wrapped his lips around it. His right hand travelled down from Katara's cheek to engulf her other breast.

He kept grinding himself against her in a hard way and felt the heat emanating from her core. Gods, he wanted to have it wrapped around him!

His movements became more frantic and he sucked harder on her nipple, pinching the other one between his fingers as if he wanted to rip it off her. Katara groaned loudly, her voice hoarse and high, a tone sweeter than Zuko had heard it ever before. He switched his mouth to her other breast and used his left hand to knead her right breast, as Katara's hands waved through his hair, pulling at his strands and shoving him into her breast at the same time. He groaned at the feeling. He really liked it how she touched his head.

She arched her back into his hand and mouth, and her moans became louder, as she kept meeting his thrusts. He felt how her body shuddered and saw goosebumps covering her arms. He lifted his head to look into her face. It was contorted in pleasure, and he wanted her to cry in pleasure, too.

He attached his lips to her throat, as he pushed his right hand between her legs. Oh, shit, she was hot. Heat enveloped his hand and when he started to rub his knuckles over her panties, he felt that she was wet, too.

"Nnnngggghhh," whined Katara and quickly grabbed his wrist to pull his hand away from her core.

Zuko felt how confusion made its way through the hazy, misty feelings of his lust and desire. She had pulled his hand away. Why?

But she didn't push _him_ away, and she kept grinding her core against his erection, and craning her neck to give his mouth better access, so he forgot it again.

His hands were on her hips instead and he grabbed her tightly, as he held her like he needed her to press himself even harder against her.

Sha gasped loudly, but this time, he wanted to shove his hands under her panties, and she captured his wrists again. He growled in frustration and sucked harder on her skin for a moment, before leaning back. Maybe the expression on her face would tell him something.

Did she want even more foreplay?

"We…," she panted, not really focusing her eyes on his. "I…" He could see that her mind was still occupied with the position of their bodies, as she furrowed her brows. She still breathed so deeply, though, and her breasts kept pressing against his chest, and his erection was still lying right there in front of her entrance, only two layers of fabric between them, he didn't think he could even focus on her words. "No-ooohhh," she moaned suddenly, because Zuko couldn't stand lying so still on top of her, and had shoved his hips forward again.

Katara's contorted features relaxed for a few seconds, before she hit his arm again. "Would you… stop for… just a moment?" she gasped with a slight undertone of irritation.

He really didn't want to. "I already gave you a moment," he murmured and put his lips softly onto hers. He closed his eyes to kiss her lazily and enjoy the softness of her lips, the wetness of her tongue, which made his chest feel wider again, but also made his loins burn with more desire.

She returned his kiss just as softly and breathed through her nose, her hands went to his scalp again.

Mhm, whatever she had wanted to say couldn't be so important, right? No, not when their hips were pressing together in the most wonderful way, and her naked breasts were pushing against his chest, and when he was actually lying on top of her and between her legs, and damn, did he not want to leave this place.

Just then, Katara bent her legs and pulled her knees closer to her chest, giving him more access. Before he could use that, however, she put her knees under his chest and shoved him away with her legs. He didn't fight her, but the disappointment in his groin almost hurt, as he reluctantly let her go.

He was also slightly impressed how bendable her legs were. Mh, he could have pushed her knees to her breasts while driving in and out of her…

Well, not now, since she frowned at him and kept pushing him away, but maybe later, when whatever had disturbed or angered her had been discussed.

He swallowed as he tried to think of something else than sex, when he saw how she sat up and supported herself on her elbows. Reluctantly, he sank his butt on his heels and waited for her to say something.

Katara took deep breaths, which still sounded so much like her moans that not thinking about sex was downright impossible for Zuko. Would she take these deep breaths after an orgasm, too? And, fuck, how would her orgasm even sound?

His erection bobbed at his thoughts, and he had to fight the urge to touch himself. It was obvious that Katara tried to calm down. Touching himself might upset or even disgust her.

She swallowed a few times, when her breathing had calmed a little. Then, she took a deep breath again and looked him dead in the eye. "We can't have sex," she said, her voice sounding incredibly sexy after all that moaning and sighing.

That's definitely not what he had wanted or hoped to hear. Of course, being pushed away while making out should have already warned him, but his lust driven mind had come up with completely other excuses for her behaviour. Maybe she had wanted to use another position, and had gathered the courage to ask him. Or maybe she would have told him about something she always wanted during sex, or maybe she was going to propose a roleplay. Whatever, his mind and his body had not wanted her to say these words.

He needed a few seconds to reign in his disappointment and calm his frustrated thoughts. He swallowed. "Okay. Er, why?" His voice sounded a little rough.

Katara skidded a little away from him, and that was the moment when even his erection understood that there would be no sex tonight.

"Oh, well," Katara stammered. "Wh-what we just did, that… that's okay, I mean. We didn't have to stop, but you didn't seem to understand that I didn't want your hands at my vagina."

Zuko blushed. "Er… Well, I…"

Katara waved dismissively with her hand. "Don't try to explain yourself. I just…" She was the one blushing now. "I just never… I mean, never before…"

Zuko's eyes widened in shock. This couldn't be. Jet had always bragged about sleeping with Katara in high school. Or had he lied? However, thinking about Jet at least made his erection completely go away.

"You're a virgin?" he blurted, still feeling shocked and knew he sounded unbelievable.

Katara grimaced and threw a pillow at his face. "No, I'm not! I meant that I never had sex with someone who… Well, we're not…"

Zuko put the pillow in his lap and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. "Oh, yeah. Me, neither."

Katara let herself fall back on her bed and pressed her hands against her cheeks. "This is… a little weird for me, is all."

Okay. He did understand that. It's not like he had ever had sex with any girl or woman who had not been his girlfriend. He'd tried once, after Mai had broken up with him, but that hadn't worked.

"Well, you being a virgin would have been weird, after everything that Jet had said in high school," he said, maybe to try lighten the mood, or maybe to remind himself that this was his best friend's ex-girlfriend. He couldn't just sleep with her. What would Jet say?

Zuko wouldn't be happy if Jet slept with Mai or Jin, either. Okay, well, maybe Jin was fine. That was so long ago, and it's not like Zuko still knew anything about Jin, and he had moved on from her years ago.

If Mai would have become a couple with Jet, that would have sucked. Because then Zuko wouldn't have had the chance to move on, and would have only wondered why Jet was better for Mai than him.

Watching Katara react with a horrified grimace, he thought that it wouldn't bother him now, if Mai were with Jet, but he didn't know how Jet would feel about him and Katara. But was there even a 'he and Katara'? They weren't really together. It would be fake dating and sex, or almost sex. And that was different, or maybe even worse? He didn't know.

Katara groaned and pressed her hands against her eyes. "Oh no, don't tell me you know about all that!"

Zuko pushed his thoughts away and focused on Katara in front of him. She looked absolutely adorable when she was embarrassed. He grinned, before he crawled next to her and lied down on his side to look at her. "You don't think Jet would have kept quiet about that, do you?"

Katara turned around to bury her face in her pillow and a muffled scream escaped her.

Zuko chuckled and fought the urge to reach for her hair and run his fingers through it.

But then, her face reappeared behind a curtain of hair. She shoved it aside and then lifted her torso to pull her hair under her breasts away. "I'm pretty sure Jet exaggerated anyway," she said in a hopeful tone.

Zuko frowned. "Hm, well, he said you screamed all the time, and told him how hot and what a sex god he was." He grinned. "I actually believed him back then."

"Eeewww! I never said that, and I didn't scream!" Katara grimaced again and hit his arm again. "Honestly, if I screamed, then only because it was so awful."

"Er, actually, I don't really want to know," he said, but he still felt a little better knowing that Jet had indeed exaggerated in his description of his sex with Katara.

Katara shrugged. "I'm just saying that teeny boys don't know anything about sex, nor how to make a girl feel good."

Zuko thought about his intimate moments with Jin back when he was seventeen. Had she felt the same way?

Katara turned around to lie on her back and looked at the ceiling. "So, I'm not a virgin. How could you even think that? I lived in one flat with my ex for almost two years!"

"You stopped me from going into your panties and then said things like 'I had never…'. What was I supposed to think?" Zuko tried to defend himself.

Katara huffed. "Well, not that. And Jet even talked about that! And he wasn't my only boyfriend. I had Aang, too. So I had plenty of sex. Loads. I'm the complete opposite of a virgin!"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, sorry. But please, do tell me more about all this sex you had with your boyfriends. My ego really needs to hear this," he added sarcastically.

Katara pressed her lips together. "Sorry," she murmured.

The thought of sleeping with Katara had still not left him, although he had accepted that it wouldn't happen tonight. And maybe not soon, but he really wanted it to. It kind of sucked that his best friend and his high school nemesis had been the only ones to sleep with her. He didn't like that. He wanted her, too.

The light feeling in his chest became stronger again, and he shifted a little, his eyes still on Katara's face. The feeling sank to his stomach, where it changed almost to a flutter.

"What about you?" asked Katara. "Are you a virgin?"

Zuko scowled. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Katara frowned. "But you said you had never had sex with someone you hadn't been together with."

"Yes."

Then, she turned on her side to look at him, her face contorted in confusion. "Oh. Ah, yes, you were together with Mai, right?"

He shortly looked at her breasts, which weren't entirely covered by her hair. They were just so… Mhm, it was hard not to look. "Er, yes, I was."

"Was your first time with her?" Katara asked and put two fingers under his chin to lift his gaze to her eyes. She didn't look critical, just amused.

He blushed a little, but grinned at her, as he shortly licked his lips. "No. That was Jin."

"Who's Jin?"

"She didn't go to Ba Sing Se High School," Zuko explained. "She's from the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, and often came to Uncle's tea shop over the summer from 11th to 12th grade. She was actually looking for a job, but Uncle had enough waiters."

"How long were the two of you together?" Katara wanted to know.

"A... little over a year, yeah. It didn't last after we graduated, and I left town," Zuko explained, shrugging.

Katara hummed. "In high school, I thought you didn't care about sex at all. You never looked at the girls, but also not at the boys, so I thought it didn't matter to you."

Zuko sighed. "I tried to despise hormone driven teenagers, but I was also very shy. Jin wasn't shy at all, so…" He shrugged again.

"Shy?" Katara asked with a grin forming. "You?"

"Yes, Katara, I was shy," he answered seriously. "But since it was your task to provoke me and annoy me so much that my temper snapped, of course, you couldn't have known."

She pressed her lips together, then smiled at him in an apologising way.

He suddenly felt the urge to pull her close. Not to kiss her again, but to put his arms around her and hold her. He wanted to bury his face in her hair, and he wanted to feel her body close. Just looking at her didn't feel like enough.

He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I actually meant that you didn't seem shy just now at all," Katara said with a smirk.

His ego felt definitely stroked at her words, but then he started to worry. "Was… Was that okay?" he asked. "I mean, I thought you would tell me if I did something that you didn't like."

She nodded. "I would have told you. But I think we both have enough experience to not be shy, right?"

He felt suddenly very relieved. "Er, yes." Maybe he wasn't shy about snogging, or sex, but he was still unsure and even shy sometimes about emotional stuff. Though it wasn't as if they had to discuss any emotional stuff, right?

A sudden yawn pulled his mouth apart, and he blinked in confusion, when Katara chuckled. "So, where's that bedroll you told me about?" he asked.

"Bedroll?"

"Yeah. So I can sleep. Or I could also drive home in my tired state and hope not to cause an accident."

Katara raised an eyebrow at him. "You can sleep here, and you don't need my bedroll." She clapped her hand on the mattress between them.

Zuko frowned. "You want me to sleep in your bed? I thought you said…"

"Just because I said we shouldn't have sex, doesn't mean we can't sleep in one bed," Katara huffed. "And I've already slept in yours. What's the big deal?"

Zuko ran a hand down his face, feeling a little too exhausted to explain this to her. "Well, we hadn't made out before you slept in my bed. And my bed is bigger. There's more space. This bed is so tiny that…" he stopped himself, seeing Katara's narrowed eyes and the dangerous look in them. "… that it's incredibly comfortable, because we can really snuggle up together." To emphasise his words, he skidded closer to her and put an arm around her. Hm, now he actually got to do what he'd wanted to, but since Katara glared at him, it didn't feel as nice as he had imagined.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to sleeping in tiny beds," he said, and Katara softened a little again.

"Okay." She pulled a heap of fabric from under her pillow and put it over her head. Her breasts disappeared under an over-sized white shirt on which 'Elementia Capital University' was written in red and gold. "I'm going to get ready for bed. " She climbed over his legs to get out of bed. "And I'll see if I have a spare toothbrush for you."

"Thanks," he said and smiled at her.

**oOo**

Katara woke up, because she felt incredibly hot. She'd just had a very weird dream about Aang trying to sell shoes to her, when the heat enveloping her caused her to wake up. She frowned. Oh shit, she sweated!

And then she noticed something else. Something was poking her. She knew that feeling.

Carefully, she turned around to find Zuko behind her, still asleep. His eyes moved around behind his eyelids, so she guessed he was dreaming. And he kept poking her!

But Katara already lied almost pressed up against the wall. Narrowing her eyes, she elbowed Zuko in the ribs. He made a sleepy noise of protest that kind of sounded sweet. Katara turned around completely to look at his face.

It looked so peaceful, all the hard edges softened. But then, he suddenly started to smile and poked Katara again. His eyes still moved behind his eyelids, and Katara tried to find a position in which he wouldn't poke her, but the only thing that did was making him groan.

She sniffed and glared at his face. Who was he dreaming about? She would so throw him out if it was someone else.

He started to snuggle closer, and wrapped one arm around her.

Katara's heart started to beat faster. This felt nice.

It was weird how different it felt, though. She had cuddled with him dozens of times before, and it had always felt comfortable and nice, but more like cuddling with Sokka felt.

But this, now, made Katara feel very different. She was still way too hot, because Zuko's body was probably one hundred degrees Celsius hot (which would have been nice in the South, but not in the tropical capital), but she also felt nervous and a little excited now. Flutters spread in her stomach and she took deep, flat breaths to calm her nerves.

Zuko cuddled with her, after they had almost slept with each other. And he seemed to like it. He seemed to like having her close.

But Katara had to calm down. When she had told him they couldn't have sex, it's not like he had argued in any way. To him, she was still only his fake girlfriend, who he obviously also liked to snog.

He could have said that he liked her, or that there was more between them than just some weird friendship, or business partnership, and physical attraction. And it's not even like the physical attraction had been there from the beginning. It had developed. Just like the rest of their relationship. At least, for Katara.

She was only reluctant about it, and it still felt weird, but she knew she could actually picture them together as a real couple. The more time they spent together, the more she liked him, and that was very dangerous. It had to stop. He obviously didn't feel that way, and he was kind of her boss, and their relationship was only fake publicity for his father.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat.

"Katara," murmured Zuko, as he pressed himself more against her.

Katara tensed and looked at him, seeing his eyes were still closed. She blinked.

He was dreaming… about her?

Well, after last night, she was probably on his mind. But if the way he pressed himself against her was any kind of indication, he was obviously only dreaming about sex. What she had not been willing to give.

Since she had some feelings for him, it wouldn't have been as weird to sleep with him as she had made it out to be, but she didn't want to be used by him only for sex. If she would use him, too, that would be different. But her feelings created an imbalance which would only destroy everything if they were to sleep with each other.

She became annoyed, and maybe a little aroused, as he kept rubbing himself on her thigh and groaning quietly.

"Mh, Ka… tara." The hoarseness of his voice went straight to her core.

She swallowed. Great, now she was aroused.

"Zuko," she said, hoping to wake him up, as she laid a hand on his shoulder and lifted his head.

They lied so closely to each other, their noses almost touched. Katara felt a little nervous again, having his face so close to hers.

All of a sudden, his lips were on hers, and he gave her the sweetest kiss she had ever experienced. It was sleepy, and almost lazy, slow, but oh so wonderful.

She closed her eyes. She couldn't push him away, when he kissed her like that, even though he was probably still asleep. She returned his kiss reverently, sighing into his mouth.

The hand that had lied on her waist suddenly made its way into her hair, as his kiss became deeper.

Katara opened her eyes in surprise. He surely didn't kiss like that when he was asleep. And a sleeping person would not push her on her back to press themselves on her body.

Oh no, he felt so good. Katara waved her fingers in his hair and couldn't get herself to stop this.

Zuko ended their kiss by nuzzling her cheek instead. "Nice way of being woken up," he murmured.

Katara tensed and then felt angry and annoyed again. She pushed him away. "I didn't wake you up. You woke me up, because you're a poking oven!" She sat up to look at her alarm clock telling her it was only 5:27 am.

Groaning, she fell onto her covers again.

Zuko blinked in confusion. "What?"

She glanced at him. "You shoved me against the wall so that I had your body heat all over me and you kept rubbing against me, and that woke me up. You had a dirty dream," she said. She had wanted to say it in a factual tone, but actually sounded accusing.

Zuko looked confused about her annoyance. "I'm sorry my body heat bothered you… And I dreamt about you, so…"

She narrowed her eyes. "You dreamt what you couldn't get, huh?"

His brows contorted, and she could tell he was getting annoyed now, too. "I did not dream about last night!"

"So you dreamt about some random one night stand with me, or what?" she snapped. This was probably not completely fair. He didn't even know she liked him.

He frowned, as he looked like he was thinking. "No, definitely not. It was day."

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, grumbling.

He sighed in a very dramatic way. "I'm sorry I woke you up, okay? But I don't get why you're so angry about me dreaming about you. It's just normal that I would after last night."

Maybe she was angrier with herself, because she had let herself be swept away by his sweet, sleepy kiss. "Well, I didn't dream about you!" She wondered if she should tell him that she had dreamt about Aang, just to annoy him, when he already said something.

"Well, you also didn't want to have sex!"

Her eyes widened in rage, and she turned quickly back around to snarl at him. "Are you mad at me, because I didn't want to have sex?!"

Zuko's eyes widened and he kept still for a moment. "No, what? No, of course not! How can you say that?"

"Because you sound like you are!"

"I'm not mad at you! But you're annoyed over my body temperature and what I was dreaming at night, both things that I can't control!" He sat up, his hands formed to fists, as he skidded away from her to the edge of her bed.

"I am mad, because you thought I would wake you up with a kiss!" she explained. "You kissed me, for your information. So you woke yourself up!" She sat up now, too, and leaned her back against the wall.

Zuko opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out. His face twisted in confusion. "So you're mad I assumed you were the one to kiss me?"

Katara glared at him for a few seconds, noticing how silly she behaved. But if he thought that any initiation had been on her part, then maybe he could find out the real reason of this initiation.

She had kissed him at the gala yesterday, because she couldn't stand the thought of this stupid woman being close to him. She wanted to be the only one close to him.

And she had only started things in the car, because it had seemed to her as if he had turned her on during dinner on purpose. Stroking her thigh like that, always touching any part of her, her arm, her hand, and whispering into her ear about leaving earlier. It had all felt so sensual and as if he wanted to seduce her. And then she had thought Zuko was jealous of Ruon Jian, and somehow she had thought he wanted her, too. But he had probably only played his role as jealous boyfriend in front of the others. It's not like he had really been jealous. And he had not tried to seduce her. It had all been in her fantasy, but of course, he hadn't said no in the end. Men, really.

She had to get these feelings out of her head. Or heart. Lusting after Zuko was okay, but really liking him in any way that was more that she liked Toph would be disastrous. It would break her heart.

"Katara?" His voice sounded soft.

"What?"

"Please, I'm sorry that you're angry with me, but I don't know what else to…"

She shook her head. "No, I'm silly. Sorry. I'm always in a bad mood when I wake up, so…" She sighed and pushed her hair behind her shoulders. "I hate waking up early, and…"

He nodded. "Okay. Then maybe you should try to get some more sleep. It's still early."

Biting her lip, she nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks." She lied back down on her bed and pulled the thin blanket over her body and up to her chest. She eyed him sitting there. "You can lie down again, you know. I won't snap at you for waking me up again," she said quietly and almost timidly.

Zuko eyed her, then the alarm clock, and she knew he was thinking about leaving. He always got up early to do sports.

She looked away from him, because she didn't want to see how he would decide to leave.

"Okay," he said instead, and she felt the mattress bending to his weight again.

From the other side of the bed, his body heat actually felt quite nice. She smiled a little, before she closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come over her again.

When she woke up again around nine o'clock, Zuko had left.

There was a letter where he had lied, however, and Katara opened it with the absurd hope that this was similar to these moments in romantic comedies, when the other person only left to get breakfast.

_Katara,_

_Thank you for enduring the gala with me yesterday. Having you with me made it more bearable. _

_I still have some work to do, and you know I get up early, so I left. Maybe we could meet again tomorrow?_

_I'm sorry if I somehow acted like an idiot yesterday. I didn't mean to. I like you, and I don't want you to be mad at me. _

_Even though we won't have sex, I enjoyed what we did yesterday immensely, and I would like to repeat it. If you agree. _

_Zuko_

Katara didn't know if she should feel happy or sad. She felt completely torn. One part of her wanted to smile at his letter and get her hopes up, and the other part of her wanted to tear up and start crying over it.

He left, but he wanted to see her again tomorrow.

He liked her, but he just liked her.

And he was okay with not having sex, but he wanted to snog again. Just how it was yesterday. Just their bodies and their desire. Nothing personal.

Was this now a good or a bad letter? She couldn't tell, but she knew she should treat it like a bad one. For her own heart's sake. She just didn't think her heart would be able to treat Zuko's letter like a bad thing.

She lied back down in her bed, staring at the ceiling and wishing she had never agreed to be Zuko's fake girlfriend.

But how should she have known that she wouldn't only come to like this boy she had despised in high school, but that she would develop romantic feelings for him?

**oOo**

Katara texted Sokka and her parents that she was ill and couldn't come for lunch this Sunday, but GranGran wasn't going to stay a lot longer, so they gave Katara such a bad conscience that she agreed to stop by.

Sokka proposed, however, to pick her up, which she couldn't really deny. It was sweet of her brother who had even brought her a thermos flask with tea for the 'journey'. The being ill excuse was also good to explain Katara's behaviour.

Normally, she would have been really excited and happy for Sokka, although teasing him mercilessly, when he told her that Suki had agreed to go on a date with him, but today she just nodded and smiled.

She rarely talked and just stared off into empty space without her eyes focusing on anything, once they were at their parents' flat. Last night played through her head over and over. If Zuko didn't like her that way, then what did he think did she kiss him for at the gala? Why had he kissed her back? Was that just a guy thing?

While Hakoda pulled Sokka to the kitchen to do the dishes, Kya and Kanna turned around to look at Katara with questioning looks.

"Are you okay, sweetie? Apart from your cold, I mean," said Kya.

Katara zoomed back to the table in her parents' flat. "What? Er, yeah, sure, I'm fine."

Kanna snorted. "Of course. And your thoughts are also not everywhere but here."

Kya skidded closer to Katara. "Was it something that happened yesterday? You know, you haven't told us anything about the gala event you had gone to with Zuko." She grinned at Katara to get her to react positively.

But all it did was increase Katara's frown and got her to gnaw at her lower lip. It would be really nice to be able to talk to her mum and grandmother about her problem, but if they would find out that she had just pretended to be with Zuko for money… She didn't know how her family would react. Her mum might take it lightly, but GranGran was more old-fashioned. And her dad and Sokka would completely flip.

"The gala was horrible. The location was nice, but most of the people there were just arrogant snobs," she said, but not with the contempt that was usually swinging in her voice, whenever she said the words 'arrogant' or 'snob'.

Kanna narrowed her eyes. "Was anyone impolite towards you?"

Katara snorted. "Most people. There were some girls telling me I didn't belong there. One of them tried to flirt with…" Her voice had got louder again, angrier.

"Zuko?" Kya guessed. "And what did he do?"

Katara sighed. "Well, he didn't tell her to go away, but he also didn't flirt back. I think he tried to stay polite towards her, but he might have been a little annoyed. We…" '… _didn't talk about it, because I started snogging him instead'_. Katara cringed. "It's just that… he couldn't very well start getting indignant on my behalf. All the people there were someone important or related to someone important. One misstep and Zuko could have damaged the reputation of his father's company among these people." She didn't know why she defended him, but it's not like she had been angry with him for his behaviour during the gala. No one had insulted her apart from the thin woman in the bathroom, but everyone else had simply ignored her. On the other hand, all of the plus ones had been ignored.

"And what is it that you really worry about? Do you think Zuko could agree with these people?" Kya asked, her brows furrowed in worry.

Katara quickly shook her head. "No. He doesn't, and I know that. He doesn't think less of me, because of where I come from, and he can't even stand these events and all the faking and doing stuff for reputation…" She trailed off. Why had she begun to say something? Now, they wanted to know what was going on, and Katara… was very good at improvising. After the idea popped into her mind, she felt still, blinked, and realised that it was a pretty good idea.

She took a deep breath. "It's just that I wonder how he really feels about me. If he loves me, because I fear I might be more invested in our relationship and that I feel more for him than he does for me." She bit her lip nervously and pulled her ponytail over her shoulder to run her hands through her hair.

It weren't really her worries, but they were similar and normal worries of people in a relationship. This way, she could actually talk to her mum and grandmother about her feelings.

"Oh, dear, no!" Kya skidded with her chair even closer, until it met Katara's. Kya leaned over and laid an arm around Katara's shoulders. "I'm relatively sure he doesn't think about marrying you yet, but of course he loves you! How could he not? You're wonderful, Katara."

Not really what Katara had hoped to hear. She crossed her arms and leaned back against her rest.

GranGran, who sat on the other side of the table, leaned forward. "I've got to say that boy is not what I always imagined for you. He's shy, and feels awkward and insecure around us. In our village, people are directly part of the family. They know they will be welcomed warmly, and don't need to feel insecure. He knows nothing of our culture. But I could see that he was very smitten with you. You don't smile like that at people you don't have very deep feelings for."

That was more like it.

"You think so?" Katara asked and couldn't keep the hope out of her voice.

GranGran nodded. "Your doubts have probably to do with his aforementioned shyness."

Katara hummed thoughtfully. Could it be? It's not like she'd told Zuko all at once when she noticed her feelings had changed, and maybe he felt that, too, but also thought she didn't feel about him that way. They had both acted, as if it all meant nothing, but if she could pretend it meant nothing, then maybe he was pretending, too.

"Men are also pretty inept when it comes to feelings," Kya added, shrugging. "After all, I had to ask your father out, Katara. Back then, that was very unheard of, especially in our village. I didn't know if he liked me, but I didn't want to waste any chance I got."

Katara turned around to look into her mother's face. "That's pretty cool. But I feel like Zuko's and my situation is a bit more complicated. Being brave and just tell him what I feel does not only have the two endings: 'He feels the same way' or 'He doesn't'."

If he didn't feel the same way about her, their working arrangement might completely end, or feel terribly uncomfortable and awkward from then on. And if it ended, Zuko would have to get a new pretending girlfriend. Or he would disappoint his father. And Katara didn't want any of that to happen.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!:)_

_So, yeah. They did not sleep with each other. Not yet. I don't want them to, until they know about their feelings for each other. I just think that, even though Katara and Zuko are twenty-one and twenty-three years old in here, they are still relatively young, and I didn't give them the kind of experience that makes the main characters in love comedies sleep with each other after the first date. So I think two people who have only slept with people they were in love with and in a relationship with would have problems with the casual 'We get along and we have chemistry, so let's have sex!'-sex. _

_And maybe another reason for this is because I'm a romantic. A little. Deeeeeeep in my heart.  
_

_Zuko seemed to want to sleep with Katara, though, so maybe my first reasoning confussed you a little. In fact, Zuko was very eager to sleep with Katara, but if it would have happened, I'm pretty sure he would have panicked completely afterwards. First, this "Haaahhh!" feeling, where you just feel sleepy and good, then the memories, still 'Haaahhh!', and then slowly "Fuck. Oh shit, what have we done?!" Yeah, he would question his feelings, her feelings, and then have a long, ranting monologue in his car, or the shower about his feelings. So, he wouldn't really have been ready for this, either, is what I mean with this hypothetical scene. _

_And Katara... Well, she has just noticed that she somehow liked him, and then they snogged a lot, and she was just like "Oh, yes. That's so good. Oh my gods, the man I like is kissing me!", until she asked herself "What if he doesn't like me?". But, for Katara, sleeping with Zuko without having feelings for him would have been okay, if he didn't have any feelings either. But when one of them has feelings, they get hope, and then get their heart broken. _

_And Zuko would be more the "I'm not thinking about the next day. I'm a reckless, passionate, fierce person,so let's have sex!" type of person who starts panicking the next day. But he could only be like that with someone he really feels attracted to. I just wanted tto explain why Zuko would have slept wth Katara, but wouldn't have wanted this failed one-night-stand after the break up with Mai. He's just not a one-night-stand person for me. Inside, he's a softie, and he would say that he needs an emotional connection. And I think that Katara wouldn't need that, but want that. I think Katara could completely focus on her physical pleasure and keep her emotions out of things, but really only with someone she doesn't like. Not with a stranger, though. _

_Okay, I think I was babbling, but I hope you can understand my reasoning behind this chapter's events. _

_So now we have a very emotionally confused Zuko who can't admit to himself that he likes Katara, because of Ozai having told him that he should end the relationship with Katara, after it fulfilled its purpose, namely making Ozai president. And an emotionally vulnerable Katara who knows she likes her fake-boyfriend and wonders what he feels for her. _

_I also wanted to break with the Zutara rule that Zuko has to fall in love first with Katara. He always fancies her longer than she fancies him, at least, in the fics I have read in which they told each other how long they had liked each other. So, I wanted it to be Katara for once who likes him first. Or who realises she likes him first. I also think it makes more sense in here to have it that way, because Zuko is still under Ozai's wing. So, if we had a book one Zuko and book one Katara trying to get along and be nice to each other, I think it would also be Katara who fell first, because she would just see that the fire prince can also be nice and good, and maybe he actually isn't so bad, but just has a horrible family. But Zuko would still see a water peasant, who's not so bad as his teachers had made them out to be, but who is still his enemy. He would like her and not want to hurt her, but he would definitely deny having any feelings towards her. And it's similar in here. _

_I don't think I've ever written a chapter in which the word sex had appeared so often. It's a bit weird, actually. It's like diving into a new world, really. _

_And we had Katara with her mum and GranGran, because I wanted Katara to have some support. Zuko can talk to Jet, because Jet knows the relationship is fake, but Katara? She has no one to honestly talk to about this, but I wanted her to. So she told a little lie. _

_I apologise to all of you who thought Zuko and Katara would actually end up together by the end of this chapter. Nope. You still have to wait a little for that. Maybe two or three chapters..._

**_Answers to reviews: _**

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: Thanks for your review!:) Yeah, I thought Azula would be one of those 'You dare manipulate my brother?! You dare insult my brother?! You dare hurt my brother?! Only I, only I can do that to him!' kinds of sisters. In a world with Ursa, and without war, I don't think Azula has to hide something like affection. And you could also interpret it as loyalty to her family, which would even be supported by Ozai. Yeah, I wanted them to have this little quarrel at the end, because it just feels so Zutara to me. And just to have another obstacle or delaying element in the story...  
_

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Do you mean when will Katara find out that it was Zuko's fault that she didn't find a job and had to accept his offer? Or that he likes her? About the former, that secret will be kept for a little while longer. And about the latter, two to three chapters. Or did you mean something else entirely with your question?  
_

_To _Guest: _Thank you!:) Well, it actually had the length I had wanted this fic's chapters to have, but they just grow and grow sometimes. And this chapter now is way longer. I hope you liked it!:) Thanks for your review!_

_To _Darklady_: You really think so? Thanks! I haven't actively tried to do that, but I just try to keep people in character. I'm not a big fan of OOCing characters. He, I think your happiness about this chapter raising the rating to M has probably disappeared a little... But you needn't worry, as this is fortunately not the end, and it's Zutara, and it's not a tragedy, so there will be Zuko and Katara knowing what they feel for each other and having sex. In three to four chapters, I guess.  
_


	26. Chapter 25

_Hey everyone! So, I'm sorry I couldn't get this out earlier, but I still had to write it... He... I try to get things to move a little faster, but I also want to keep it detailed and not broad. _

_In the last chapter, I made two mistakes. Zuko actually met Jin after his eleventh school year, not his tenth, and Katara and Zuko went to Ba Sing Se High School, not Long Feng High School. Maybe Jin went to Long Feng High School, though... I went back and corrected them, but some of you will have already read it..._

_I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think!:)_

_I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters. _

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

When Zuko woke up on Monday morning, his phone was overflowing with new e-mails. They had all been written to the Kasaishi company, and then they had been sent up to him. The mails were from several magazines and newspapers. Those on celebrities, teenager magazines, and even political ones. Each one wanted an interview with him. Some were asking for Katara, too.

He grimaced, while reading through the mails during breakfast. He wondered what Katara would say to this. He knew he'd told her there would likely have to be interviews, but if she didn't want that, he would just go there by himself. His father would, of course, prefer if the interview would be with Katara, but Zuko wouldn't make her do something she didn't want to. He knew he could technically try to bribe or threaten her with something, hut he didn't want to do that to her. Not again. Not now.

She had become too important, and he couldn't justify certain things anymore. Some time, he would tell her about how he had been responsible for her not finding a job for two months. And he would do everything he could to make it up to her. But only after his father had become president.

Jet came out if his bedroom in a rush, as usual. He grabbed two steamed buns from the table, drank some warm soy milk, said "Morning, Zuko" through one of the buns and was off.

Zuko sighed and leaned back, stretching his legs. He should tell Katara about the interviews. But they still had holidays and she would probably sleep long. Maybe he could text her... Or he could see her later.

She hadn't answered the letter he had left in her flat and hadn't texted or called him at all. He wondered if he'd written something wrong or done something wrong. Maybe he shouldn't have left. But there had been an issue with the company, and since Zuko had been already awake, and had had a bad feeling about leaving the gala so early, he had texted his father he would take care of it. He'd only had to bring his father a file from his office downtown, so it hadn't even been that much.

Or maybe Katara had had a lot to do? She could have met her friends. Or gone to her family.

Zuko face palmed. Of course, Katara had even told him that Sokka and she went to her parents for lunch every Sunday.

_Dear Katara,_

_can you meet me tonight? I'll pick you up. What do you want to do? Cinema, dinner, theatre, etc. Let me know. I'll get the tickets or the reservation or whatever._

_Zuko_

Scratching the side of his head, he wondered if he should try to make the message nicer. It looked so formal.

He added two emojis, both smiling faces, before he sent the message away.

A smile spread on his lips, as he thought about what tonight would hopefully go like. He'd prefer to have dinner with Katara, since it was easier to talk there. And they could sit in a niche, their thighs pressed together, and he could stroke hers again, this time consciously trying to seduce her. He would keep one arm around her waist, massaging her back, and he would lean close to her, or he could wipe away some crumb from her mouth, and maybe they could share a dessert (with two different spoons of course, although Zuko wondered what that should bring, as his goal was to interchange millions of bacteria with her anyway. And he'd already done that. Okay, so, with one spoon), and what if he could feed her? He imaniged Katara's face, her eyes closed in bliss, her mouth around a spoon, while she groaned quietly, because the dessert would be so good,and then Zuko would pull the spoon slowly from her mouth and it would free itself with a plop sound, and then he would be very aroused (what he actually really was right now), and lean over and ask her if they could leave to have another kind of dessert (he'd heard the expression once in a film, but he thought it was weird, although it seemed fitting in this circumstances; but maybe Katara would also just laugh at him).

Groaning, Zuko twisted in his seat a little, trying to find a comfortable position for his semi-erection. He really hoped this would work tonight. He wanted to kiss Katara again and to touch her again and...

His mobile buzzed.

_Hey:D _

_Yes, I'm free tonight. I'd love to go to the cinema, if that's okay. See you then!:) _

Zuko frowned. He wouldn't be able to flirt with Katara and seduce her while staring at a cinema screen. Zuko hated it when people talked in a cinema hall or when they tried to distract him.

He sighed. Maybe he should just suggest for them to sleep in one place because of the paparazzi.

**oOo**

Zuko came up to Katara's flat again, although she told him he didn't have to.

Since he hadn't said anything more explicit about the cinema, she had put on her newest trousers with a shepherd's check pattern and a t-shirt. She wanted to accept Azula's 'advice' at least a little and had searched through her wardrobe for trousers not made of denim. And hadn't found anything. So today, Katara had shopped a short and a long trouser not made of denim.

She had put her hair in a bun and almost didn't put on any make-up. Just to make her look a little less tired for the cameras. But all in all, she didn't look like someone going on a date. More like someone going on a casual date, because they didn't have to be nervous about it. Yeah, she looked like a girl who knew that Zuko belonged to her, and who didn't have to do anything for it. Or like a girl who didn't want to do anything in order to get Zuko.

She was thinking too much.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door for him and stepped outside.

He looked at her in a nervously friendly way. "Hi."

"Hey." She tried to look neutral, as she smiled a little.

But it was weird. They didn't talk until they were sat in his car, and then it still felt weird.

"So, what did you do yesterday?" Zuko asked. "Did you go to your parents for lunch?"

Surprise flooded her. She couldn't believe he remembered that she'd told him that!

"Yes. Sokka picked me up," she said.

"Mhm. Was it nice?"

"Yeah. Grangran cooked again. But she'll leave the capital tomorrow."

"Oh. When will you see her again?"

"At the end of December. For the winter solstice. It's celebrated highly in my tribe." She fidgeted with her hands. "Actually, you're probably going to be invited, too."

"Me? Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because they think you're my boyfriend. It's a family holiday."

"Mh, okay."

"Okay, what?"

"If I'll be invited, I'd like to come."

Katara tried to calm the flutters in her stomach. He had agreed. Well it was mostly for pretence, but still.

They talked about what they had done on Sunday and today – university for both, then Zuko working, and Katara shopping – and then they talked what was expected from them during this term, Katara stressing how glad she was that the summer term was shorter than the winter term.

Zuko had chosen a cinema which was close to the university, which meant it was part of a larger complex. There was also a game centre and a few restaurants in the building.

After parking his car in the car park, they walked towards the cinema together, only thinking about holding hands, when they were already halfway there.

"The film starts in a few minutes," Zuko said. "But I bought our tickets online. Do you want popcorn or something to drink?"

Katara nodded enthusiastically. She couldn't stand watching a film without popcorn. Popcorn was an absolute must, and if she didn't have that, then crisps or cookies were okay, too. She just hoped Zuko wasn't one of those people who couldn't stand loud noises during a film. Katara was no one who talked through films, but popcorn simply belonged to the cinema.

"Yeah, popcorn and coke, please," she told him, as he went to the bar.

Katara looked around the cinema, remembering how Sokka, Aang, and she had gone here a lot about a year ago. Toph had sometimes come along, too, and relied on her hearing sense. She had also searched for the content of the film on the internet before, so she would be able to understand everything at the cinema. But it had never been that thrilling to her. Toph had mostly just enjoyed throwing popcorn at strangers and blaming it on Sokka, as no one would ever blame a blind girl for that.

A smile pulled at Katara's lips, and she wondered if things could go back to how they'd been. Everything had seemed so much better back then. Much easier. But when she really thought about it, she knew it hadn't been perfect either. She had already thought about breaking up with Aang back then, but had feared hurting him. But she had known that she couldn't be happy with him in the long term.

Now, they were moving towards friendship again, and maybe going to the cinema would soon be possible again. But would Sokka want to bring Suki? And should Katara bring Zuko? And worse, would Aang bring Meng?

Katara really hoped Aang would find another girl soon, but not Meng! Everyone but her!

The people in the entrance hall had started to move slightly slower on their way to the cinema halls, and Katara curiously followed their gazes to Zuko.

He was waiting for her popcorn, and the people behind him or next to him in other queues were subtly taking pictures of him.

Katara slowly closed her eyes. Oh, she hoped their seats would be secluded so that no one would bother them during the film.

When Zuko turned around with two drinks and a large bowl of popcorn, he seemed to notice that he had been recognised and started to scowl. Katara quickly walked towards him to take the popcorn off him.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," he murmured in a distracted manner, bent down to kiss her forehead, and then grabbed her hand to walk towards the cinema halls where they needed to show their tickets.

The film that Zuko had chosen was a good action film. It wasn't too full of action and had some interesting plot twists. The heroes were not only shown in a good light, and although the audience didn't find out a lot about the main characters, they still evoked sympathy.

The ending was great and mind blowing, an even bigger plot twist forming itself.

No one seemed to have noticed who Zuko and Katara were in the hall and they remained seated until everyone else had left.

"Wow, I so not did see that coming! That the reporter had actually been his friend!" Katara cried out. "They really did that well, although there was some information they just thought the audience had, although they hadn't provided it."

"Oh, that was in the first part," Zuko said.

"First part?" Katara asked confused.

"Yes. I thought you'd seen it. It came out when we were still at school."

She shook her head. "No, I also never heard of it before."

Zuko took her hand again, as they made their way through the entrance hall. "I have it on DVD. We can watch it sometime if you'd like."

Katara nodded, squeezing his hand.

Many heads turned in their direction again, as people started to talk enthusiastically to each other. It was hard for Katara not to grimace or cringe under all the attention. Zuko stiffened slightly, when some guy screamed "Vote for Kasaishi!" throughout the hall.

But Zuko simply looked in the direction where the voice had come from, smiled tensely and nodded. Katara was impressed at how he managed all this. Someone with such a temper as his was more likely to explode than to smile.

Zuko suddenly stopped outside of the cinema, glancing at a restaurant. "Do you mind if we'd go there? I didn't have dinner yet and am starving."

Katara, who was full of popcorn, still shook her head. "No, of course not."

They went to the restaurant that looked to be the most expensive one in this building, a sushi place.

A table for two, where they would sit opposite each other, was proposed to them, but Zuko objected, wanting to sit in a niche. The restaurant didn't have any niches. Zuko scowled, his narrowed eyes scanning the room.

Then he pulled one of the chairs to the other side of the small table, the waiter hurrying to rearrange the cutlery and dishes. But the chair was heavy, and Zuko needed to strain himself to keep pushing, and then he almost bumped into the table, until he straightened himself to regain his composure. Katara smiled at his antics. He ran a hand over his shirt, then through his hair, checked that their chairs stood in a right angle to each other, and then stretched out his arm to motion for her to take a seat.

"Zuko, that's not necessary," Katara hissed, pulling on his arm.

"It is," he hissed back.

The waiter stepped back. "You can sit almost as if you were in a niche now." He bowed to Zuko, then to her and hurried off.

Zuko sat down next to Katara, and she looked strangely at him.

"Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean?" He looked guilty.

She rolled her eyes. "It's stupid sitting like this. My knee keeps bumping into your thigh."

"It's because it looks more couply," he said evasively, and Katara vowed to observe him tonight very well.

While Zuko ordered three different sushi plates, Katara decided that she'd like some sashimi. Popcorn made her full, but not really sated her. She still was no fan of raw fish, though. In her tribe, it had always been cooked in some way.

After their drinks had arrived, Zuko leaned closer to her. "I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Katara took a sip of her ginger juice.

She suddenly felt his hand on her thigh, stroking it in a reassuring manner. She cleared her throat.

"I have got several e-mails from newspapers and magazines, asking for an interview with us," Zuko answered.

Katara listened, but she also enjoyed how his hand stroked her thigh. He probably only meant it to be comforting, but it still felt nice.

"Mhm," she said.

"Well, are you willing to give interviews?"

"Er... Can you send me a list with those who asked? How many are they, by the way?"

Zuko shrugged. "A dozen, maybe. Or more."

"What?" Katara shrieked. "I thought about three or four!"

He grimaced. "I'm sorry. This is just... pretty annoying." He took a deep breath. "Okay, the thing is I have to accept all their requests, but you don't. If you go to three or four with me, it'll be okay. I doubt Father can say something against it, if I tell him you didn't feel comfortable with it."

She nodded. "Thank you, Zuko. I think that's the best solution. I wouldn't want to be interviewed so often. But why can't you say no, if you don't want it either?"

He pinched the bridge if his nose. "It's good for Father if I give a lot of interviews. About that, we will definitely have to talk about him in these interviews. That he..." He hesitated there. "... completely accepts you and doesn't care about your origin."

Katara thought that made sense, but she still didn't know if she liked how Zuko just did things he didn't want to just to please his father. Katara knew she would do the same for her father, but Hakoda wouldn't ask so many unpleasant things from her.

"But enough about my father," said Zuko, his voice suddenly oddly hoarse.

Katara cocked her head to the side. His golden eyes were burning into hers with so much intensity that she was reminded of Saturday night.

And his hand on her thigh kept being very distracting. It definitely wandered high up on purpose this time.

"I was wondering how you feel..."

Katara's heart skipped a beat.

"... about me and you..."

The butterflies in her stomach were running amok.

"... repeating what we did at your place." He took a deep breath. "I left you a note, but you never answered it."

She looked away, biting on her lip. Of course, he didn't talk about their feelings. Of course it was just physical.

But she had to admit that she had enjoyed what they'd done immensely. He kissed with so much passion and his hands and body had just felt so good.

She never would have thought that she enjoyed making out with Zuko so much. He had been an emotional rock to her, but once his lips had been on hers, holy moon and ocean god! It hadn't just completely overwhelmed Katara, but in a way also rocked her world. Okay, that sounded cheesy, but she had just been so surprised! Zuko, who barely smiled, or laughed, or made jokes, or showed passion or interest in anything, was apparently very passionate in one area. And no one else was ever going to know about it, if it went Katara's way.

She knew it hadn't only felt good because she liked him. She had wanted to touch his bare torso before, too. And maybe her feelings would return to be physical if they continued this. Or maybe he would develop similar feelings for her. Whatever it was, Katara knew she really wanted to snog him again. She actually wanted more than that. If her feelings weren't confusing her so much, and if they had remained the way they'd been before, she would have definitely had sex with him on Saturday.

She had feelings for him, but she wanted his body, too.

Her hand sneaked high up on his thigh, before grabbing it.

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise.

Katara moved her fingers, not knowing where that confidence came from. She probably wanted to shock him. Or to be better in the fumbling below the table part. If he could distract her this way, then she could do that, too.

She could see from his clenched jaw that he liked how she touched him.

"I'd like to repeat what we did, too," she said lowly, more hoarsely than normal.

He licked his lips, as his hand moved further up.

That's when their food arrived.

Katara drew her hand back, staring at Zuko blushing. It was amazing. He looked completely flustered and didn't look at her when their food was put in front of them.

"Enjoy," their waiter said.

"Thank you."

"Thanks."

As they started to dig in, she wondered where this confidence had just come from. Apparently, Zuko had needed some extra, too, as he had seemed shy about it the moment a third party had come in, but before he had almost been suave. Very sexy.

The way he looked now, though, made it obvious that he thought of it as being just as ridiculous as she thought now, too.

Katara had never before acted this way with a boy that had not been her boyfriend or when she had not been drunk. It was weird. Then again, she had wanted him to react the same way that she had reacted to him. She had wanted to do this as well as him. She had wanted to beat him. And being competitive towards each other was actually normal for them.

But the moment must have been still too weird, as Zuko didn't say anything after. They ate in silence, Katara enjoying her meal, and Zuko eating with perfect manners, but still pretty fast.

He was almost finished when she was.

Zuko asked her if she wanted to have dessert.

She wouldn't mind, but an idea plopped into her mind. A way of definitely beating him, whatever he would say.

She grasped his thigh again and leaned forward. "What if we leave to have dessert at your place?"

For a moment, he looked a little surprised, but then a smile that was almost a grin stretched his lips. "Then I'd count myself lucky."

It was a good answer. Katara had to smile at that. He could count himself lucky to be with her, or he could count himself lucky to having any woman in his bed tonight. Not that there would be much more happening than it already had.

Katara might have not turned her nose up on a mere sexual relationship with someone, but then it had to be the right person for it. Zuko wasn't. He was way too infuriating and endearing.

But maybe Katara was the right woman for him for a sexual relationship only.

Urgh, she needed to stop overthinking things so much. It wasn't like her. Then again, she had never been in a situation as complicated as this. And Katara normally wasn't anyone who had to wonder what the other person felt. Until now, it had always been the boy who approached her first.

After paying the bill, Zuko took her hand again as they walked back to his car.

Katara felt annoyingly excited.

oOo

It felt just as good as it had last time. Even better, a little, because this time Katara wasn't thinking so much. She was able to enjoy herself even more, to enjoy the feelings rushing through her body.

This time, Katara was surer of the motives for this and of her feelings. In the back of her mind, she still thought this was kind of bad because of the way she felt, and it would probably get her into a lot of trouble, but Zuko had a remarkable talent at making her mind shut up.

When he rubbed his erection against her core, and her breasts pressed to his chest, their cheeks touching, Katara couldn't deny that she wanted more. Also physically. She was throwing her head from side to side, not able of thinking anything else than how good it would feel to have him inside of her. Oh, yes, she wanted him to enter her, to move within her, to grab her, to hold her, and to thrust deeply and firmly into her. It was all she could think of. There was still a thought that this was a bad idea, but she really wanted to give a fuck and just lose herself in Zuko's arms. This was definitely a place in which she liked to be.

But he seemed to remember how she told him that she didn't want to have sex. He obviously also had more self-control than her, because he managed to slow down their movements, until it was all soft and sensual. But Katara still felt desperate to be filled, when she sucked his tongue into her mouth. Zuko only answered slowly, lifting up his hips off hers.

She wished she could pull him back down and tell him to just have sex, but she didn't do it.

They lied next to each other in his bed, still panting, only wearing their underpants.

After a while, Zuko began to stretch like a cat in the sun, making a satisfied humming noise. Katara wondered how he could feel so good. They had both just stopped their orgasms from approaching, and yet he was comfortable?!

His eyes were closed, when he turned over and threw an arm over her stomach. He snuggled against her, his face buried in her shoulder.

Oh shit, this felt so good. So normal and nice, and man, she wanted that! She wanted this to be normal.

Katara's stomach did really terrible things to her at Zuko's closeness.

"Is this okay?" he asked, not sounding completely sure, and now she noticed that his body was still tense.

It was more than okay. It really felt... perfect. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

So she just snuggled closer to him and nodded. "Yes, it's okay."

She felt his body relax, and they stayed like that, simply basking in each other's presence, and shortly after Katara had started to comb through Zuko's hair, he fell asleep.

She looked at him and smiled. He looked ridiculously adorable when he was asleep. She could almost see the little boy in him and then wondered how he had looked as a boy. She really needed to see pictures of him.

She pulled the blanket over their bodies, staying with him like this for a few more minutes, stroking his hair, until she got up to get ready for bed.

**oOo**

Zuko had been summoned to his father's office again. These days, it only had to do with the campaign or with Katara.

This time, it was about both.

Ozai was pleased to hear Zuko had got so many interview requests. He had already expected it and made him a list with topics to definitely speak about, some that were okay, if asked, and one about which he shouldn't talk at all. If Katara would try to answer then, Ozai told him to interrupt her with something very important.

Zuko nodded. That seemed easy enough. Since Katara wasn't really his girlfriend, he could actually send her this list, too, so he wouldn't have to interrupt her. That was not polite.

"I know your term has started again, and I know you've got a lot to do. But there's something you need to do before the summer holidays," Ozai said.

Zuko sat up straighter, frowning. "Of course."

His father smiled in a pleased way. "I want you to get information on Song Wen," said Ozai.

Wen. That was the last name of the head of a large pharmaceutical company named Kaoya. Several other companies belonged to them, too. They sold medicine for any damages of the skin, e.g. burns, rashes, even antidotes against natural poisons, and also had a cosmetic line.

Zuko nodded. "Will we try to approach them with a deal?"

"Yes," Ozai nodded. "Zhilan Wen's daughter Song is our key to that. You will find out everything about her until the summer. The Dongs have invited them to their summer festival as well."

"Does that still happen at the French Riviera?" Zuko asked. He thought it was ridiculous that the Dong family still held these parties and just expected the people from Elementia to follow them all the way to France. When he had been little, they had only needed to get to Ember Island, but the Dongs moved to France, when Zuko was ten, and from then on the Kasaishis went there, too. First, Zuko had hoped that the Dong's move meant he didn't have to see Chan and Ruon Jian anymore, but he had been oh so wrong.

The Dongs' summer party was always about making connections and showing off wealth and power. People were judged, other people were worshipped, others insulted. But everyone wanted to attend, and there were always articles about the party in the magazines later.

Ozai nodded. "We will go, of course. You need to bring Katara, though."

Zuko frowned a little. That almost sounded as if it would be bad or a burden if he brought Katara. Actually, he was relieved that she would be able to accompany him. First, it would keep all the other girls away, second, the party would be way more fun with Katara. And maybe they would be able to leave early to spend some time to themselves. Preferably, in a hotel bed. Spending time with Katara on holiday generally didn't sound like a bad idea to Zuko. How would that be, waking up and falling asleep next to her every day?

"Yes, father," he answered, but he had probably made a mistake. Maybe he hadn't sounded apathetic enough.

Ozai narrowed his eyes. "Don't get too used to your little Southerner. I know you probably tell her how dear she is to you all the time, but remember her purpose." He leaned back in his chair and scratched his chest. "I'm not forbidding you from having a little fun. She's quite nice to look at despite her upbringing. I trust you that you don't get attached to her. After I'll be elected, there will be no place for her here anymore."

Zuko nodded quickly. "I know, Father. I… I wondered how this should happen. If I were to break up with her the public would probably support her, wouldn't they? Maybe then they wouldn't like the Kasaishi family anymore."

"I know. That's why we will make her break up with you. And it will be you with the public's support on their side," Ozai told him, with an almost generous air.

Something felt very wrong in Zuko's stomach. "So Katara will have to make a bad public impression after your election?"

Ozai nodded. "Exactly. That's where Song Wen comes in. But you will get all the other information just in time."

oOo

After the talk with his father, Zuko felt a little sick. He didn't see Katara for longer than a week, claiming that he didn't feel well or had too much work.

And trying to get every piece of information on Song Wen was certainly a lot of work.

But the most important reason of why Zuko was avoiding Katara was because he felt horrible. He didn't know what to think about the whole situation or how to interpret it. He just knew that hearing his father tell him that it was okay to have fun with Katara made him sick.

He wasn't really sure why, but he guessed it had something to so with the fact that he did have fun with Katara. Adult fun. He had fun with her mouth, her hands, and certainly her breasts. He had thought it was okay, just two people enjoying to kiss and touch each other.

In the beginning he hadn't really thought about it, just knew that he wanted her. But now it was a little strange that he had enjoyed this so much. There was a reason why he had never had anything with a girl he hadn't been in love with. Closeness to anyone else made him feel uncomfortable. But he'd taken off his shirt, trusting in Katara's words that she wouldn't touch his back. And he felt so attracted to her, it was the first time this had ever happened.

When he had been with Jin, he had felt attracted to her, too, of course, he had been a teenager, after all, but he had also been very shy about it, not acting, except for when she told him to. And with Mai it had all been shared moments of being annoyed with other people, a shared comprehension of thinking everyone else were idiots, which had led to affection. He had loved Mai differently than Jin. He had felt attracted to Mai, because he had loved her, but this with Katara was something entirely new to him.

Lately, whenever he thought of her, he also thought of kissing and touching her, he thought about her body, how soft her skin was, and how much he really wanted to have her right now. The soft sounds she had made when he had kissed her breasts, and how beautifully her face shown, as she had contorted it in pleasure.

Maybe he really just needed sex. Maybe that was all. But he wouldn't like to do it with anyone else, this he knew.

The problem now was that Zuko was wondering if he was using Katara. Was he treating her like a slut? Katara wasn't the type of woman to be treated like a slut. If he would, he was sure she would call him out on it and probably slap him.

But Zuko still felt bad. His father was already planning to get rid of her, while Zuko used her for his own pleasure, and also to play his girlfriend. To not disappoint his father.

Zuko would have to do something very nice for Katara after all of this was over. Maybe he could buy her a flat. Or a car. Or he'd find her a boyfriend, someone who was worthy of her, who would treat her well, who would love her and who she could love. Since he would have taken more than a year of her time to actually look for a boyfriend.

Katara surely wanted to marry one day and have children. He was keeping her from that. But then he wouldn't get to kiss her anymore. She wouldn't lie in his arms anymore, and they would stop spending so much time together. Would she cook a southern meal for another man, too?

Okay, maybe it would be enough if he bought her a flat.

After a week of avoiding her, he could tell that she became irritated with him. She wanted to be done with the interviews soon, but Zuko had them all scheduled later, so that he could first try to get his head clear again.

Okay, so since Katara got the short end of the deal, he would buy her a flat. Or something equally as useful and impressive and expensive. He would make sure that she was happy. And he needed to talk to her about the last change of their relationship.

Did she feel used?

**oOo**

Katara looked at the message Zuko had sent her. He was still too busy with work to see her.

She felt anger and indignation rise up inside of her. How dare he? As if he was working so much! He needed to come to uni, too, they could at least have lunch together or just meet for a coffee, they could even go to lectures together!

As she entered a lecture hall, she felt dread running through her body. What if… What if he avoided her, because he had somehow figured out that she liked him?!

Her first reaction was absolute and utter horror, but then she got angry that he would act so childish over it. It's not like she would jump at him or throw heart shaped love letters at him the moment she'd see him! If he figured it out, they could talk about it like adults!

And really, how should he have figured it out?! He had clearly been too busy ogling her breasts. Boys never figured these things out. They were dense like that.

"Hey, Katara!"

Lost in thought, she jumped in surprise when she saw the boy in front of her was Aang. While thinking about Zuko, she had somehow stopped moving in the central aisle and was now standing right next to Aang's seat row.

She blinked, trying to gather her thoughts. "Aang! Hi!"

Meng leaned forward, sitting on Aang's other side, throwing a glare in Katara's direction.

She sighed. Of course, wherever on campus Aang was, Meng was, too.

He smiled at her, genuinely happy to see her and Katara forced herself to act a little more normal.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something and…," trailing off, she touched her forehead and grimaced.

"It's okay. Do you want to sit down?" Aang asked.

Katara stilled. They hadn't sat next to each other in lectures since she'd broken up with him. She had thought he would approach her first, as he was the one needing time to heal and to accept things as they were. But she hadn't even thought about it during the last weeks.

Smiling, she nodded. "Yes, thanks."

The smiled he directed at her made it clear to her. Aang was moving on. And she was happy for him that he did.

"Katara! It's so nice to see you again!" Meng exclaimed. The younger girl had a lot of freckles and a slightly upturned nose, which made her look abnormally cute. At least, in Katara's opinion. Just her hair, that stayed away from her head as if it were electrified, gave her a little crazy look. Like some crazy scientist. Meng mostly wore her hair in two plaits.

Katara returned Meng's false smile. "You, too, Meng. You kind of look different. Did you do something with your hair?"

Meng's smile wavered. "No, I didn't. Wow, it must be really a long time that we didn't talk, huh?"

"Mhm." Already fed up with her, Katara turned to Aang. "How are you, Aang? Have you already visited Korra by the way?"

She had completely forgotten that Aang had wanted one of Naga's pups, until he had texted her again last week. So she had told Korra about it, and then sent Korra's contact to Aang.

He grinned. "Yeah, and the puppies were so adorable! They all tried to play with everything, constantly! But Korra says they have to stay with Naga for a little while longer, until I can have one. I think I'm going to name my pup Appa."

"Isn't that the name of one of those sky bison beasts?" Katara asked, remembering something Aang had told her about Mountainer religion.

"Exactly! The sky bison god of friendship and fun is called Appa. His traits are loyalty and love. I thought it fits a dog."

She smiled at him. "It definitely does."

"Isn't that also the mightiest of the sky bison gods?" Meng piped up, sounding smarmy as hell. "Didn't you say he used the manipulation of air to bring fun and joy to the people?" Her voice was higher pitched than normal.

Aang turned to beam at her. "Yes, you remember that?"

"Of course, Aang." Meng laid a hand on his arm. "You're my friend, and I care about you. So of course I listen to what is obviously very important to you."

Katara really wanted to fake a gagging motion. Who talked so sappily?

But Aang probably thought this was normal, as he just continued to grin and said "Thank you."

"Katara, do you want to have a pet?" Meng suddenly asked, almost making it sound like an accusation.

Katara blinked. "Er… I never really thought about it. Maybe later in life?"

Meng twisted her mouth. "I think you should better want one. Your boyfriend is really animal friendly, after all."

Katara contorted her eyebrows. "Aang is not my boyfriend anymore. We broke up months ago!"

Meng rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about Aang. I'm talking about Kasaishi Zuko, your boyfriend." She definitely said these last words louder than she had to.

Katara stiffened. A lot of heads immediately turned towards her.

"Meng knows about you and Zuko?" Aang asked, looking puzzled. "I thought you hadn't talked to each other for ages."

Meng grinned wickedly. "That may be, but I'm able to access the internet, and there's this platform distributing videos," she drawled.

"What video?" Aang asked, his brows contorted and nose scrunched.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Just things about his father's campaign." She tried to make it sound less important.

"So it really is you in the video then?" Meng asked, sounding unsure. "I thought it was you, but I couldn't really know."

Katara smiled. "Well, there are certainly a lot of dark skinned girls called Katara in this city, but yes, that's me. Zuko is my boyfriend," she added with all the pride she could muster. "But how do you know he likes animals?"

She knew he liked them. He had told her about how he'd always wanted a pet when he was little, and how he'd brought home injured animals, but how could Meng know?

"Oh, he said that in this interview in_ Flamey-O_. An issue from last year. There was a whole article about him, since he returned to the capita just last year. And he was shown with horses, dogs, and cats," Meng went on. "He said he wouldn't mind having a farm of animals."

Katara couldn't help heself but started to laugh.

Meng smirked. "What? You don't even know that about your boyfriend?" she asked pointedly.

"No, I knew that. It's just that he might like to have so many animals, but he would never be okay with living on a farm!" She giggled. "He hates dirt."

"Zuko is really an animal guy?" Aang asked, sounding excited. "He could meet Appa, when I have him!"

Katara grinned. "Cool. I'm sure he'd like to."

Meng narrowed her eyes. "You would let him close to your dog? Aang, you're a Mountainer!"

Katara tensed. Why did Meng say that?

Aang frowned. "So? Zuko is my friend, and he likes animals."

To think of Zuko and Aang as friends warmed Katara's heart a little, and she was grateful that Aang had accepted him so easily. But Aang wasn't one to hold grudges the way she did.

Meng stared at him, as if he were crazy. "He can't be your friend! He thinks less of you! Both of you! Don't you know anything about history?"

Anger rose inside of Katara at Meng's words. How dare she? She didn't even know Zuko! How could she accuse him of such a horrible thing?

And sure, Katara had accused him of that once, too, but she had actually known him back then. She had seen how he had got along with everyone except for Aang, Sokka, and her, so she'd had a reason to think about him like that. But Meng?

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. It's history. Zuko wasn't born then, he didn't commit these crimes. When you get to know him, he's really nice! I'm even thinking about voting for Kasaishi."

Meng's eyes widened. "I can't understand why you're supporting them. They almost wiped out your entire people! And they attacked Katara's people, too!"

Katara's nostrils began to flare, as her eyebrow started to twitch. "We know that, Meng! But Zuko and his family are not their ancestors, and condemning them for things they haven't done is wrong. I'm with Zuko, because I like him, and nothing else!"

Meng sneered. "Sure, and all his money doesn't have anything to do with it, right? Or that he's famous?"

Katara was fuming. How dare that little prat accuse her of being like that! She was not a gold digger! She didn't care the slightest about Zuko's money! Of course, it paid her rent and food at the moment, but these were normal expenses. She would never be with him just to enjoy luxury!

"If I'd be so shallow, I'd rather have him for his looks," she hissed. "As he's very handsome and incredibly sexy. But of course, you'd think about his money first! As someone who looks like him wouldn't even glance in your direction!" she spat.

Aang took a deep breath through his teeth, and Katara could see real hurt in Meng's eyes for a moment. Oh shit, why had she said that? That's not even what Katara really thought! She didn't think Meng could never get the attention of a handsome man. Well, she didn't think that her looks were any hindrance, it was more her personality.

"So you just like him for his looks then? And forget about your family and history just because of some handsome face?!" Meng countered. "You should be ashamed of yourself. I bet your ancestors would be turning in their graves if they knew what you're doing. It's utterly disgusting! The Kasaishis are horrible monsters, and you're sullying yourself with that!"

Katara wanted to slap that girl. She wanted to slap her so hard her head would fall off.

For a moment, she thought of tossing her hair back, grabbing her bag, saying something like "I don't need this" or "This is a waste of time" and simply leaving.

But Katara had never in her life backed down from a fight. She stood and threw herself over Aang at Meng. She slapped the girl in the face.

"Take that back!" she shouted before slapping her again. "He's not a monster, you horrible bitch!"

Meng probed one elbow into Katara's throat, making her wretch, before she pulled violently at Katara's hair, making her scream in pain.

"Guys! Stop! Fighting is not the answer!" she heard Aang beg somewhere behind her. Her legs were still somewhere on his lap or torso, she didn't care.

She just wanted to get the upper hand over Meng. Oh, she was so fed up with that stupid cow! Katara had been nothing but nice, polite, and including to her, knowing to befriend a couple was strange and automatically put one in a third wheel position. She had tried to be Meng's friend very hard, but had slowly come to realise that Meng didn't like her.

She never had. She had not even tried to get to know her, just dismissing her, whatever she said, and instead focusing on Aang. She had spent time with Aang alone, because Katara had not wanted to go, knowing Meng would just ignore her or talk her down.

And Katara was sick of it. She had never said anything against Meng, not to Aang, not to Meng herself. But Katara breaking up with Aang and having Aang all to herself was obviously not enough to calm Meng down.

Now, she needed to talk badly about Katara's new relationship?! About her boyfriend who wasn't really her boyfriend, but Katara liked him and cared about him, and she would not have anyone talk about him like that!

Katara used her head to knock Meng over who fell on the empty seat next to her, but her hands were still painfully dug in Katara's hair. Katara used her elbow to ram it into Meng's rips who howled with pain. Katara quickly scrambled away, and moved out of the seat row.

Meng had got up, too, and followed her. She had an almost murderous look on her face.

"I will not take anything back that I've said! You're just a gold digging whore who doesn't care about morality in the slightest, or you could have at least jumped a decent rich guy. Instead, you took the heir to the fucking Kasaishi throne. Someone who looks down on people like you or Aang. Anyone else besides their rich, perfect friends!" Meng snarled.

No one was trying to keep them apart. Aang had followed them, a worried expression on his face, as he tried to be ready to intervene the moment they would run at each other again. Everyone else was watching with bated breath.

"They are not like that!" Katara shouted. "Zuko's not like that! He doesn't look down on me, and the only reason that I'm with him is his personality! I love the way he is, and it's not my problem that you're too dim-witted or narrow-minded or whatever your condition is called to understand that! You were just always jealous of me!" Katara accused her. "You just always wanted Aang, and you're too insecure to look beyond appearances, so you hate me, because my hair isn't as unruly as yours!"

"Don't say something about my hair!" Meng screeched, as she ran at Katara.

Aang made a motion to grab her, but Meng was too fast.

Katara was ready to welcome her with a punch, as a flash of light distracted her. Was someone taking pictures? Oh no, was someone filming this? This could not land on the internet, never! What would Zuko think? He'd be furious!

She was too distracted to stop Meng, as she crashed her into the wall.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" some people were cheering, but everything seemed blurry and misty.

Katara had hit her head on the wall. She groaned from the pain and saw how Meng wanted to punch her. Forcing herself to move, she lifted her arm to stop the punch, then put one hand on Meng's shoulder, the other one at her waist, put a foot behind Meng's leg and pushed a little.

The girl fell to the floor immediately.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" the voice of one of Katara's professors bellowed through the room. He was trying to get through the crowd to the fighting girls, and Katara had to lean against the wall, as she felt dizzy again.

Meng was rolling onto one side, moaning that her back was broken.

The crowd parted to let the professor through.

Shit, it was Professor _Pakku_!

Could this day become any worse?

* * *

_Thank you for reading!:D Please let me know your thoughts!_

_So, first of all, Zuko wanting to sit in a niche and moving the chair around the table, but struggling to do so was inspired by a scene from "The Duff" with Mae Whitman, the voice of Katara. There, it's Mae who moves the chair around._

_Song Wen is meant to be Song. The company's name Kaoya means roast duck, as it was one of the words that came to my mind first, when I thought of Song, as her mother makes roast duck for Zuko and Iroh. In what the company specialises is also inspired by Song's job as a healer. The name Wen means genial, which I thought fits Song quite well. I know Song was not wealthy and definitely did not have a company, but other than Jin, Mai, and Katara, she's the only one who had any connection with Zuko, and I need her in this story because of this. Zhilan, her mother's name, means iris orchid._

_So, I already mentioned Meng. But we never got her in here. I, personally, don't have anything against Meng, but I think Katara would come to dislike her with time. Meng is also from the Eastern Province, so she's a little afraid of the Kasaishis, too, and of course, wants Kuei (the Earth King) to win this election. _

_I don't know if the fight was too much. I guess it could have stayed an argument with only words, but I kind of had Katara's and Toph's mud fight in mind and how Katara had snapped at Pakku to fight her, so it's not unrealistic that Katara would want to fight. However, I don't know if her fighting Meng is realistic. Katara knew what a good fighter Toph was, and Pakku was an old master, so she wasn't afraid of hurting them. _

_I've been reading some rather silly and funny stories lately, and this fight kind of was one of the results of that. It's over the top, just as the insults are, but then I also thought about it as another little thing that would cause disturbances in this story...  
_

_So, Professor Pakku shows up... He is not (yet) with Grangran in here, that is all that I can tell you right now. _

_Also, please be patient with Zuko. He has to realise what a horrible and abusive father Ozai is while at the same time working out his feelings for Katara. This takes a while. I don't wanna make him look like a jerk, he's just a little oblivious right now. _

_**Answers to reviews:**_

_To _Smckoy929_: Yeah, I thought it would be a little too early right now. And then I would also have to write about them as a happy couple for quite too long, because the next story arc is still a little away... But I can't say anything more.  
_

_To _uchihaNaruto247_: You really think so? Thanks. While I read my own make out scenes, I'm more like a critic, and so I always worry they are not stimulating enough. There are scars on Zuko's back, but no one has ever seen them, apart from Shuyi, the man who took care of Zuko after this happened, Ozai, and Iroh, no one knows this happened. And Zuko doesn't have phantom pains, he's just worried that Katara would feel the scars. She'll find out, though._

_To _IDidn'tSignUp4This_: Haha!:D well, then I already gave you the answers._

_To _KatMora606_:_ _¡Muchas gracias!: D Sí, el sexo hubiera arruinado un poco la dulzura de los personajes juntos. Zuko llegará a eso. Él es un poco inconsciente y también sigue siendo leal a Ozai, pero no tardará más :) No hablo espanol, entonces traduje esto con la traduje de google. But I knew what "no hablo espanol" means:D  
_


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